Carnage Paradox
by BlueberryCookieCrisis
Summary: [HTF - Humans] When they heard about the 'Happy Tree Friends' summer camp, they thought of it being a good opportunity to have a change of pace, but what they least expected was it being a painful splatter party. Rated M due to language, scenes, gore, and hot-blooded yandere romance. [Flippy/Flaky] Horror adventure, some other couples as well.
1. Prologue

**My first HTF fanfiction.  
Enjoy and don't forget to review.**

**Note: When there's the 'BZZZZ' (meaning the TV buzzing) then it means the recording is shifting from a person to another, they aren't together, these are individual recordings.**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

PROLOGUE.

* * *

In the midst of a dark room lied a buzzing TV which was about to play some sort of recording. The light kept flickering uncontrollably as the recording started playing;

_**Bzzzz  
**__  
Unknown: "So... I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that alright?"_

_Red-Haired girl: "I... Sure..."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Blue-Haired boy: "Go right ahead!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Pinkette: "Why not?"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: "How did you find out about 'Happy Tree Friends'?"_

_Green-haired boy: "Ads."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Blonde Boy: "Internet!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Pinkette: "Friends."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Red-haired girl: " um, my cousin."  
__**  
**__Unknown: "How old are you?"_

_Red-haired girl: "N...Nineteen."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Green-Haired boy: "Twenty five."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Pinkette: "Sixteen."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Blue-haired boy: "Twenty!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: "Do you have a particular reason for joining the Happy Tree Friends?"_

_Red-haired girl: "I thought that perhaps... I'd meet new people and make myself some friends."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Green-haired boy: "Enjoy the friendly environment."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Blonde boy: "Spending some time with my girlfriend."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Pinkette: "Ehehe! Have fun with my darling of course."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Blue-haired boy: "Save people!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Lime green-haired boy: "Get diabetes."  
__**  
Bzzzz**_

_Purple-haired girl: "Discover my hidden personality."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: "Are you notably good at something?"_

_Green-haired boy: "Uh..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I'm a war vet so I'm not really good at anything besides hand-to-hand combat, survival and shooting sports; I'd like to change that though."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_The red-haired girl started twirling her thumbs, "I don't really know, actually. I guess I'm only good at drawing and cooking, t-that's pretty much it."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_The pinkette giggled, "Well, I'm good at singing, dancing and modeling. Oh, and I'm a good actress when I want to!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_ Blue-haired boy: "I'm good at saving people, of course!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_while licking his lollipop, the lime-haired boy smiled mischievously, "Isn't this kind of obvious?"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Purple-haired girl: "Does knitting count?"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: After knowing about Happy Tree Friends, you are aware that you're not allowed to keep your real name, right?_

_Blue-haired boy: "Yeah, but quite frankly; I don't care."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Green-haired boy: "It's actually quite beneficial for me," he smiled._

_**Bzzzz**_

_Red-haired girl: "Yes, well—I don't mind."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Lime-haired boy: "As long as you don't name me after anything ridiculous."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: "Very well now, your name will be given after the information we collected about you, here; there it is."_

_Red-haired girl: "F-Flaky? Wh-why call me that?"_

_The mysterious man pointed at the girl's hair, "It seems you have some dandruffs, I figured this name would fit you."_

_"A-Ah..."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Flippy: "So from now on, I'm Flippy right?" he chuckled, "Nice name, I guess."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Giggles: "Eh? Is this supposed to be ironic?"_

_Unknown: "You giggle a lot, this suits you."_

_The little pinkette giggled, "You're so silly!"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_The blue-haired hero grinned ridiculously, "Calling me 'Splendid' when I'm already splendid as I am, don't you think that's quite unnecessary?"_

_He shook his head, "No, I find it quite funny actually."_

_"Eh?"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_"Nutty? What the heck?" he mumbled angrily, "Don't tell me this has to do with my eye,"_

_He shrugged, "Sorry, seems like it."_

_**Bzzzz**_

_The blonde boy smiled, "Cuddles is a cute name," he tilted his head up, locking his gaze on the man before him, "So what are you implying?"_

_**Bzzzz**_

_Unknown: "Now if you just sign this—everything will be done and you'll finally be able to join Happy Tree Friends."_

_Flaky smiled nervously and took the pen the man offered her, she looked at the sheet of paper and noticed how abnormally small the characters were, "Um, I can't seem to read it clearly..." she murmured, "May I please have another copy, except with larger letters?"_

_"What is there to read? I think you already know its contents already, since we're talking about a summer camp here."_

_"Ah, perhaps you're right," she chuckled as she signed the contract with her new name._

_**Bzzzz**_

_Flippy analyzed the contract carefully then pointed at the last paragraph, "Mind telling me what __**this **__is about?"_

_The man took the contract from his grasp and started reading it; he then glanced at the war vet before him with a reassuring smile, "What about it? Are you worried of something so trivial?"_

_He shook his head while crossing his arms, "Nothing like that, I just find it a bit uncomfortable."_

_"Oh? My apologies then," he took the pen and barred the last paragraph, "Since it's you, then I'm willing to remove it, besides; you're the only one with sharp eyes, no wonder you managed to read it despite it being so illegible."_

_Flippy smiled, "I'm glad we made it clear together,"_

_and he signed the contract as well._

_**Bzzzz**_

_Nutty signed the paper quietly._

_**Bzzzz**_

_"This looks suspicious," Splendid commented, "Why give me this when I can't even read it?"_

_"I thought you wanted to save people,"_

_The blue-haired hero pouted, "Shut up," and signed the contract._

_**Bzzzz**_

The buzzing TV was turned off by a mysterious man, he placed the remote down and shifted uncomfortably on his chair, next to him was a rather dull-looking young man about twenty three, glancing at the window.

"Is that all of them?" He asked while lighting his cigar, the boy shook his head, "No, there's more of them, a lot more."

"Why didn't you bother record the others?"

He shrugged, "They weren't that interesting, besides; they are just insignificant pieces used for our little 'game', I doubted they'd interest you, sir."

The man chuckled lightly and then exhaled some smoke, "You're the only one who has such keen eyes, _Lumpy._"

His look was blank, practically emotionless and almost dull as he locked his gaze on him; "When will I be able to retrieve my real name, sir?"

This simple question felt so light-hearted, yet had a deep meaning nobody wished to understand right now, he sounded troubled; yet the look on his face deceived him. He used him too much; he became so dull, so weak; as if he lost all emotions living deep within his heart.

A grin appeared on the man's face.

"What are you talking about?" He tilted his head, "Your name has always been Lumpy."

Lumpy looked at the ground, his pale blue bangs covered his face as he did so, "Sir... I have a request."

"Hm?"

Slowly, he lifted his head to face him, his eyes regaining light; "I'd like to take part in this game."

"What are you saying? Have you gone mad?!" He hissed as he stood up, pointing his cigar at Lumpy's throat, "Even if this is a 'game', it's extremely dangerous! Plus, unlike the others; you have absolutely _zero _chance to—"

"I don't care," he said, "I'm already trapped here, I already lost my name, and I'm tired of this, it won't change much either; since I won't leave anyway."

Without further argue, he sat down and sighed; "Is this really what you want?"

He stood there quietly and finally nodded, "Yes."

"This won't change anything you know?"

"I know, but..."

"But?"

He clenched his fists, "In the very least, if one of them... one of them makes it out, then can I..."

A single tear was shed from Lumpy's sorrowful eyes, "Can I at least get my name back? My memories?"

**Prologue, end.**

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**The prologue is finished, I hope you guys enjoyed it, if possible... review? I need support!**

**So, to make this clear; this is a gory fanfic and ridiculously yanderemantic! (By yanderemantic I mean Yandere romance, since I'm including FlippyxFlaky.) Even if this chapter was quite dull, I hope it was to your liking.**

**Review and tell me what you guys think ^^.**


	2. Chapter One: Don't talk to strangers!

**And here goes chapter one!  
Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter One: "Don't talk to strangers!"  
**

* * *

The moment she jumped out of the car; she felt like her life was taking a 180 degree turn already. The little town that was a few miles away from the camp looked extremely welcoming and bright, people walked with a cheerful expression on their faces, some couples held hands while little kids played tag and ran practically everywhere. The marketplace had quite the amount of shops; each and every one of them sold various items of cheap prices, things that you wouldn't find in the city.

The little red-head smiled widely, despite her face being covered by her spiky and messy bangs, she still managed to see it all. Her being a city girl made it all the more fascinating to her big black shining orbs, surprisingly enough; this new atmosphere didn't make her feel uncomfortable at all, on the contrary, she actually felt at ease for the first time in her life.

Her mother gave her a small smile from inside the car, "You sure you're going to be okay, sweetie?" She asked, fully concerned about her daughter's current state. The little red-haired dandruff girl nodded eagerly, her green suitcase still at hand, "Yeah, I'm going to be okay."

Her mother grinned and did a cheerful thumbs up, "Do your best, okay? Try to get yourself a cutie while you're at it, I still want to be a grandmother someday!"

She gasped and hissed in a low tone, "Mom! D-Don't talk about that!" she blushed, averting her eyes from the now laughing mother. The woman waved her hand while winking at her embarrassed daughter, "I'm just joking, dear! Have fun and try to make as many friends as possible! Don't forget to call me frequently too!"

"I will, mom."

Smiling at her one last time, she blew her a kiss; "Take care, honey-boo." She waved.

The red-head smiled and waved her back, "Take care," she said sweetly as she looked at the car that was now driving away. She sighed and looked at the cheerful little town behind her; it was the first time she was left alone all by herself out in the middle of 'nowhere'. Of course, it didn't seem or look bad; it was just... something she wasn't ready for. Most of the time, she'd be at least be accompanied by someone, often by her cousin or mother, but this time—it was different, completely different.

As absurd as it sounded, she was the one who wanted to join the 'Happy Tree Friends' summer camp, despite her mother's opinions and her saying how childish it looked; she figured that starting off with something lightly might help her become a little bit more social and less shy. She was distant her whole life and mostly accused of being anti-social by her classmates, even if it was partially true, it did hurt a lot. Deep down she thought if she really needed friends, that having people invade her privacy was a good idea. But despite these negative thoughts and doubts, she figured that having a go at this wouldn't hurt.

When her cousin came in her house and told her about it, she couldn't help but wonder what made him so excited, it looked like a regular summer camp, just what was it that made it so special?

Turns out it wasn't as 'normal' as she thought it to be, seemed like the whole idea was based after a 'game'. The founder claimed that the winner would get some kind of reward, reward which was still labelled as unknown until now.

Indeed she was curious, but not to the point of joining and finding out. Soon after, she informed her mother about it, who showed very little interest and simply joked; "A summer camp? You're no grade-schooler, dear!"

She was right, in some way. But things just got even more complicated after numerous accidents at the university, accidents in which she was the victim. Her having been bullied often was also a problem, and the lack of friends and acquaintances made it all the more worse. Whenever something odd happens in class, they'd accuse her, and because she was always quiet about it, she never denied having done anything or not. Because of that quiet and confined personality of hers; many misunderstandings got in the way and only complicated things to a certain extent, worrying her mother and the rest of her family. Eventually, they were all afraid that it'll affect the little red-head mentally, and so a week later, they had a discussion about it. It didn't last so long, but it ended up quite well. Her mother agreed about her leaving for some 'childish summer camp' and made sure to prepare her stuff, noting that summer wouldn't last long. The red-haired dandruff girl thought for a moment and concluded that being adventurous at times was a good thing, and 'Happy Tree Friends' sounded like a good thing as well. She was most definitely up for it.

Smiling to herself, the spiky-haired dandruff girl walked cheerfully towards her destination, taking time to admire the many shops and people she passed by. She didn't know why, but something made the little town near the forest unsettling. Perhaps was it just her imagination?

She shook her head, again... with her delusional suppositions. She seriously had to stop thinking so negatively.

As she walked and walked aimlessly, she realized that she actually had no idea where to go or where to actually find the camp. Figuring that asking someone for directions would be the wisest idea, the little spiky red-haired dandruff girl looked left to right for someone who would be kind enough to show her the way, she noticed an adorable old couple walking towards the park and thought that asking those two wouldn't be really difficult, they also looked like they knew quite a lot about the little town.

She jogged towards them and waved her hand meaning for them to notice her, surprisingly, they didn't bat an eye.

After finally getting in their line of sight, she smiled sheepishly and called out; "E-excuse me, b-but could you sh-show me where—"

Without even noticing her, they went past her and ignored her completely, continuing their conversation. A feeling of hurt attacked her weak heart, if they didn't want to be interrupted, they could have at least apologized, but ignoring her like that was too cruel.

Sighing, she looked again at the pedestrians and searched for someone who looked kind enough to help her out, this time; a young mother holding hands with her 4-year old daughter caught her attention. Again, she made her way towards her and tried to look as friendly as possible, waving her hand slowly; "Um, hello? Excuse m-me but I—"

To her great dismay, she was completely ignored as the smiling woman started a playful conversation with her daughter. Purposely ignored twice in a row, what a nice start.

She hoped it was some sort of coincidence, if not then she had no idea what made them distance themselves from her, was she that weird? Was it the dandruffs, did they think she was dirty? She asked herself many questions but lacked the ability to answer them herself.

Biting the tip of her finger nervously, she took out of her pocket her cell phone and thought that calling her mom would be a good idea, she probably didn't go that far anyway, and she'd rather search in the comfort of the car with her mother's pleasant company instead of asking unfriendly townspeople for directions. But as soon as she noticed her mother's name in the list of contacts, she realized that calling her would mean relying on her again, something she truly wished not to do anymore.

She closed her cell and looked at both directions, surely; at the very least _somebody _would be kind enough to help her. Her dark orbs caught a group of kids running playfully at the park nearby; she smiled heart-warmingly and walked towards them, making sure not to scare them somehow.

One of the kids, a 9-year old boy stopped playing as soon as he saw her coming, his eyes widening with astonishment. The rest tilted their heads curiously at their friend's interesting change of expression, they turned and noticed the little red-haired girl running towards them, did the same.

"H-Hello." She greeted happily, still out of breath from her unusual running. The group of children all looked at her, wide-eyed, as if she was some sort of abnormal being. She, however, did not care, as long as they didn't ignore her.

Realizing they didn't reply to her greeting, she decided to cut through the chase and pointed at the brochure she was given the day of the interview, "Um, do you children perhaps know where I could find this camp?" She asked sweetly.

The 9-year old boy bit his lip and furrowed his brows at one of the kids next to him who smiled and nodded happily; "Yup! We do!"

He hit him hard on the head and glared, "No, we do not!" he hissed at the now whining little boy.

She gasped at the act and came closer, squatting next to the injured boy and caressing the back of his head softly, "Are you okay?" she asked then tilted her head towards the culprit, "What's wrong with you?!"

For a split second she swore he showed her his middle-finger, something she did not want to believe. For her, children meant innocence, sweetness and kindness, but not this!

When the ill-mannered 9-year old ran away, the group followed him immediately, all not bothering to look back at the perplexed red-head who was still crouched. The little boy next to her smiled sheepishly then shrugged as he stood up, "Sowwie, we can't help you, pretty lady."

She blinked twice, "Eh? W-Why?"

He looked at her silently for a moment until his lips curved into a warm and sweet smile, "Cause' that's _law!" _He said as he fled as well.

Eh?

Law?

Was it some kind of joke? She didn't know but it mostly sounded like it, these _are _children we're talking about, so something like this isn't supposed to be surprising.

But it wasn't a coincidence, first the old couple, then the young mother with her daughter, and now the children. Something's up, something's... wrong!

Standing up abruptly, she didn't bother in the appearances again and this time went ahead and asked whatever person was in her line of sight. She asked a highschool girl, but was again ignored completely, a young business man who was passing by; again... then there was this nice-looking shop-keeper, but again and again—she was ignored.

This freaked her out to the extent where she couldn't even breathe evenly anymore, the summer heat was killing her, and her running everywhere wasn't helping either. The words coming from the little boy haunted her, a law...? What kind of law forbids you from talking to... strangers.

She didn't know why, but it sounded childish, incredibly childish.

She ran and ran, stuttering excuses as she pointed at the camp's image on her brochure, helplessly looking for at least somebody who would mind showing her where to go.

Not bothering to see what's in front of her, she continued running and asking until she bumped into something hard and fell backwards. She stood on a sitting position and rubbed her behind painfully, opening an eye slowly to see what she bumped on; she assumed it was either a pole or a wall. But her assumptions fell on the ground as soon as she saw the tall and strong scary figure in front of her, her eyes widening as she began to tremble in fear.

"I-I... S-Sorr..." She stuttered, not able to make a proper apology. The man looked at her with a slack-jawed expression, she thought he'd ignore her as well, but to her great surprise; he smiled sheepishly at her and crouched to offer her a hand, "Sorry! I didn't really see where I was going!" he said while sticking out his tongue meaning that it was my bad. She blinked twice in surprise and glanced at his offering hand as if it was the weirdest thing. After processing what had just happened at the moment and a few minutes back, she finally smiled happily and grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull her up. Finally! Someone normal!

The tall green-haired man scratched the back of his head nervously, a small smile engraved on his perfect face. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt that revealed his well-shaped body and muscles; she figured he was the type of guy who would go frequently in a gym to start a workout, that is until she noticed his dog tags and military outfit.

She realized that she's been checking him out for some while now and averted her eyes shyly, "S-Sorry," she finally apologized. The man shook his head, "Don't be! I was the one at fault, I should have looked where I was going, heh."

She smiled and unfolded the brochure while mumbling, "I-I'm glad you're n-not ignoring me."

He blinked twice, staring at her blankly until he finally spoke; "They've been ignoring you as well?"

The red-haired dandruff girl nodded, "Yeah, a-apparently..."

"Wow," he breathed out, "I'm glad I'm not the only one, for a split second I was going paranoid, thought they were scared of me or something..."

And then it struck her, "Are you from around here?" She asked. He shook his head and took out a familiar brochure, "I came here to look for the happy tree friends summer camp."

She gave him a blissful smile as she pointed at her brochure, "M-Me too! I'm already a member!"

"Really?!" He smiled back, "That's great! We can go and look for it together then!"

She nodded with a large grin, happy that things were now going well. This small encounter taught her not to judge people by their appearances.

He swung his backpack on his shoulder and tilted his head, "So? Got any ideas on where to go?"

She shook her head while picking up her suitcase, "No, if I did then I don't think I would've ran like crazy looking for help this whole time."

He chuckled, "I guess so," he said half-heartedly as he began to walk, the red-haired girl catching up, "By the way," he began; "What's your name?"

"I'm—"

He cut her off, "And by name I mean the one they gave you," he smiled.

She looked at him for a moment, her lips curving into an 'o' as she tried to remember what they named her; "F-Flaky, I guess."

The war vet laughed, she didn't find it all that funny though, "What...?" She pouted. He waved his hand carelessly, "Sorry! I'm just happy that I'm not the only one who got a kiddish name!"

Flaky raised an eyebrow; he wiped off a tear from his eye, "I'm Flippy, apparently." He said while reaching out his hand for a shake, Flaky smiled and accepted his gesture, "Nice to meet you, Flaky!" He grinned, she nodded shyly, "S-Same...

...Flippy."

* * *

After walking for what seemed hours, they finally found the bus stop and the town's map, Flippy smiled triumphantly as he threw his backpack on the bench. Flaky sat quietly and admired the young war vet that was reading the map carefully; she was lucky, unexpectedly lucky. If she didn't bump into him then god knows what would have happened. Her not being used to socializing and staying in crowds resulted in her building some sort of trauma, something she wasn't proud of. Surprisingly enough, Flippy did not seem or look terrifying to her judgemental eyes, on the contrary, she felt very safe and secure when he was around, not only was he extremely nice, but he also looked really tough. When she hit his chest, she seriously thought it was a wall or a pole, one of the two.

He smiled frequently and was the one who started the conversations, he talked about many things and Flaky just listened attentively, he had a comfortable and reassuring presence, something she has rarely seen.

"This is it," He said happily, bringing her back to reality as well. He turned to face the red-head, "The bus will come in about ten minutes, we're pretty lucky it's the last one."

Flaky smiled while nodding, "G-Guess it wasn't s-so bad huh..."

"Wha?" he chuckled, then tilted his head curiously, "What are you saying?"

She started twirling her thumbs while looking at the ground, "Well... I mean, nobody wanted to help u-us and—"

"Feh," he snorted, rubbing the edge of his nose with his index finger, "We didn't need their help anyways, and we managed to do perfectly fine without them."

"Y-Yeah, but still... don't you find it—"

"Weird? Yup," he responded as he opened his bottle of water, Flaky gulped and glanced at the road. They were right in front of the forest's entrance, waiting patiently for the bus to come and pick them up. Both of them remained quiet, Flippy was simply drinking on his bottle while Flaky took the time to text her mother, saying that everything was going on just fine. A few minutes later, her mother responded, saying that it was great and that she hoped her daughter would grow a backbone, in which the red-head responded that it wasn't needed at the moment.

She smiled and closed her phone, stuffing it back in her pocket and sighing quietly. She was about to throw a glance at Flippy until she realized that he was already sitting right next to her, eyes wide and a small smirk on his face. The startled red-head nearly jumped, "W-Woah! You scared me!"

Flippy chuckled as he patted her on the head, "Sorry! I guess I have a tendency to scare people without even trying!"

Without realizing that her face was already flushed red from embarrassment, she averted her eyes from his gentle gaze and murmured, "D-Don't worry a-about it..."

"Your mom seems really nice," he said bluntly, a grim expression on his face. Flaky smiled sheepishly while scratching her jaw with her index finger, "Umm, I wouldn't say that... she can become really irritating at times, but I still love her dearly... even though she underestimates me most of the time."

He tilted his head curiously, "Underestimates you?"

Nodding, she continued; "Yeah, she always wants me to rely on her and h-her only. Before my parents divorced, she had some sort of j-jealousy complex; she hated it when I asked my dad for stuff or when I t-told him a few secrets, she wanted me to favour her. I wasn't capable of doing so, since I l-loved them both dearly... but..."

She sighed and tilted her head to give the quiet Flippy a smile, "I guess it didn't really go well... in the end, they just weren't meant for each other."

"Sorry," he apologized, she gasped and lifted both her hands, "D-Don't be! I'm sorry for bringing it up!"

He gave her a small smile before noticing that the bus was already coming towards them, he took his backpack and jacket; grabbing them both and resting them on his shoulder, "Guess we got to go."

Flaky nodded and took her suitcase, the bus stopped and opened its doors, revealing a mysterious old man wearing a worn-out red cap and a dark green vest, his jeans looked baggy and torn, he turned and gave them a weird grin; showing his awful dentition.

"Hop on."

Flippy gave half a nod and glanced at the nervous girl behind him, "You okay?" he asked concerned, she lifted her eyes up and nodded, he smiled in return then entered the bus with her following closely behind. The bus driver closed the doors and drove his way towards the camp.

Both of them were surprised to see that they were the only ones in the bus, while Flippy didn't seem to care; Flaky on the other hand started having second thoughts about her going further on her journey. She didn't know much about Happy Tree Friends after all, and it seemed as though Flippy did not as well.

They talked and talked about things that didn't really seem to matter, Flippy didn't bother bring up a subject related to war, while Flaky didn't mention her 'trauma'. Both of them looked like they were enjoying their trip, and it was a good sign for little Flaky, who worried often about other people's opinions about her.

She found it awkward calling him 'Flippy' and her being called 'Flaky' sounded odd as well, she didn't bother ask for his real name though, since everything was already going smoothly; besides, once they'll be in the camp, they'll have to call themselves by their new names.

After about twenty minutes, the bus stopped near the camp's entrance, both of them took their belongings and bid farewell to the driver, whose grin only became wider.

"Have fun, kiddos." He said as he closed the doors, Flaky only smiled and waved in response while Flippy didn't pay much attention, he was more focused on what lied in front of him.

There was a small wooden sign in the left, written on it was 'Happy Tree Friends'.

Flippy looked at the path that led towards the camp and thus further deep inside the forest, he noticed quite a few amount of bungalows and small houses, there was also a lake nearby that looked good for going on a midnight swim. Looking further right, he saw about two or three tree houses and a few cabins, there was a small playground behind them and assumed it was originally built for kids.

Flaky was trying her best at containing her excitement, this was it... Happy Tree Friends.

She glanced at Flippy who had a deadpan expression; his green eyes fixed the camp with so much intensity that made her shiver.

Before they even realized it, a tall man about Flippy's height walked towards them, he had light blue hair and eyes, pale milky skin and a glazed expression, rather dull-looking. He was wearing a simple outfit that consisted of a simple white shirt, jeans and red sneakers, he didn't look like he was much older than him.

He gestured at the camp, keeping the same dull expression, "Welcome, to Happy Tree Friends." He said calmly, "My name is Lumpy, I'll be your guide."

She didn't think that the workers had to keep childish names as well, but it didn't really matter, if it was part of a certain policy then there was no helping it. They were a little late, and she noticed quite the amount of people near the bungalows, assuming that they were also newcomers to this camp.

She smiled to herself.

It was about time to change, to become someone else.

And this camp was her chance.

But little did she know, that while she was busy daydreaming, Lumpy gave her taller companion a mischievous smirk, that was quickly returned by an ominous light glowing in his eyes.

**TBC.  
**

* * *

**I think I was too explicit on Flaky's background in this chapter, although I did hope to make it short and less boring, inspiration got the best of me and I ended up making this.**  
**I didn't describe Flaky's outfit in this chapter, I thought that leaving it to the reader's imagination would be wiser, (even though I didn't do same for Flippy and Lumpy in here, Flaky's a lot more unique.) But in the future chapters, I'll be sure to describe her outfits.**

**In my opinion, this chapter was quite boring, but no worries! I promise the next one will be full of surprises! I'll introduce the rest of the characters as well. Don't take this chapter lightly though, since this is a 'Psychological/Horror' fic, I tend to write useful things about my characters, so try and be attentive at their backgrounds... all of them, and not only Flippy and Flaky.**

**Well! Review! Support! Love!**


	3. Chapter Two: Don't get yourself involved

**And another Chapter!  
So I'll be introducing a small bunch of the HTF characters, there's still time before the main plot and killing spree, so I thought 'why not go slowly, eh? The longer, the better!' and yeah. Besides, I plan to make lots of Flippy and Flaky scenes, so no worries!  
Fliqpy will appear as soon as things get exciting. There will be some major plot twists, but hey... it's no biggie right?  
Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Two: "Don't get yourself involved."**

* * *

Unpacking was an easy job for Flaky, since she didn't bring much with her in the first place; it only took her about five minutes to arrange her closet. Apparently, her roommate was supposed to be a girl called 'Petunia', but she didn't set foot on the cabin yet. For our little red-head, first impressions were very important, which is why she practiced her formal greetings before coming, making sure that she'd look as friendly as possible.

While Lumpy didn't do such a good job at introducing the camp; she thought that perhaps adventuring in this new environment by herself would be wiser. Throughout their tour, the light-haired man showed himself to be incredibly clumsy, tripping at almost every tree root, bumping his head on one or two branches in the way, and hitting a few walls— well, it wasn't like she didn't warn him...

Nevertheless, she was actually pretty curious about Flippy, who remained quiet the whole time. Every now and then she would throw a shy glance at him, and he would respond with a warm smile.

_What a kind person, s_he thought as she sat on her bed. _I wouldn't mind having him as a friend._

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt her phone vibrating, she assumed her mother texted her and so she took it out of her pocket. That is until she noticed an unfamiliar number.

_Hmm? Who could it be?_

To her great surprise, the message was empty. Not a single letter, or a name, nothing.

She decided to shrug it off, pranks were starting to get frequent and this was probably just it. Paying no mind and attention, she stood up and opened the cabin's door to get some fresh air; as soon as she opened it, she saw a girl about her height standing right in front of her. Her dark blue hair was caught in a tight ponytail while she was dressed in a simple blue sleeveless shirt and black shorts with dark blue flats.

"Um... Hi." She greeted, Flaky blinked twice; "H-Hello."

The girl smiled, "I suppose you're my roommate?"

"I guess I am," she smiled as well, the blue-haired girl reached out her hand for a shake, "Nice to meet you, I'm —Uh, Petunia."

She nodded and accepted her hand-shake offer, "Flaky, same here."

Flaky backed away, letting Petunia enter; unlike her, she bought a good whole of bags and a big suitcase along. She smelled like lilies and honey, a sweet fragrance that presented itself welcomingly by the tip of her nose.

Petunia picked up two of her bags with difficulty, assuming she needed some help; Flaky took the third bag and suitcase. The blue-haired girl smiled and thanked her.

The moment she set foot in the cabin, her eyes started exploring it's every little corner. There were two beds, one of them was meant for Flaky while the other for her, a single night table and a lamp in the middle of the ceiling. Dust was visible everywhere while the wooden floor liked like it was stained with a mysterious and suspicious liquid.

"Ugh, this room is super dirty..." She said with disgust.

Flaky smiled, "Well, w-we are in the open, dust is bound to come in at any moment." She said as she put down her belongings neatly on the bed.

"Well it's about to change!" She declared as she took out of one of her bags a spray bottle and chiffon. The little red-head looked at her new roommate curiously as said person squatted next to the dusty table and started spraying detergent.

She was scrubbing with such intensity that it nearly frightened her. After a few minutes, she stopped and glanced at Flaky's side, realising what she has been doing.

"Uh..." she trailed off, looking sheepishly at the ground, "Sorry about that... I guess I'm freaking you out."

She shook her head, "N-No! Not at all!"

Petunia smiled and stood up, her spray bottle and chiffon still at hand, "I'm a bit of a hygiene freak, as you can see," she rubbed the edge of the wooden door with her chiffon, "They call it OCD, but I think it's way too extreme..."

"Um..."

"By the way," she began to say, "Do you have any idea about this camp's activities?"

The little red-head shook her head slowly, "No, not really... I heard it would be like a-any other camp, just less... childish."

"Oh," she turned and remained quiet, still scrubbing.

Things were starting to get pretty awkward, so Flaky decided to start a friendly conversation with her roommate, to try and... Get along better.

"So... why did you come here?"

"Huh?"

"I... I mean," she stuttered, "Is there any particular reason?"

She was about to slap herself after seeing her disgusted expression, until she finally muttered; "Parents." Angrily.

"Oh..."

"They're making my life a living nightmare!" She snapped, standing up abruptly and lifting her hands up in the air as if she was contemplating something in front of her, "They go all like 'Go do this, go do that, don't do this, don't do that' kind of talk! It makes me sick! They keep on sending me there and there in—OHH hopes to finally have a 'normal' daughter! Just because I have some slight OCD doesn't mean I'm not normal! For goodness sake!"

Flaky nodded throughout the whole talk, listening carefully. She didn't dare interrupt her in fear that she would throw her anger at her, or worse.

Well, this is what happens when you want to start a friendly conversation, apparently.

* * *

After hearing Petunia talk for a good half an hour, our little dandruff-girl managed to escape from the endless loop of complaints her new friend managed to throw out. She didn't mind her; well... she wouldn't mind her as long as she'd keep the hysteric talk for herself.

She made her way outside and breathed in some fresh air, feeling at peace again.

Looking left to right, she tried to analyze her environment a bit better, remembering Lumpy's (probably) helpful tour.

_"At your left you can see the canteen, where the most scrumptious dishes are served!" He cheerfully declared with a bright smile._

Flaky was in the mood for a drink after the whole 'I hate my parents!' speech. The canteen seemed like the best place to head at and she was dying of thirst.

Walking a few twenty steps towards her destination, Flaky opened a rather dusty-looking wooden door and shyly peeked inside, noting to herself that there might be some of the few Happy Tree Friends members in, to her great surprise (and relief), no one was there.

She smiled and tip-toed towards a rather obvious refrigerator behind the counter, not bothering to switch on the lights.

Opening the refrigerator, she saw about a good dozen of canned consumables and eggs, the red-head felt like she was about to pout when there was no sign of any kind of drink around.

_'Where do they put the water here?!' _She mentally asked herself as her eyes explored the dark area she was in. So far so good, the canteen didn't look all that bad, aside from the fact that it was practically dusty everywhere. She already pictured Petunia swinging her chiffon and spray bottle left to right at insane speed, that thought alone made her giggle.

She stopped giggling when she heard a faint sound coming from her right, the little dandruff girl gasped. Something or someone was already in here, with her... and she had absolutely no idea what or who.

Slowly, she backed away, eyes not leaving the direction in which she heard the sound. Looking better, she noticed a dark silhouette standing on a chair, hand reaching for something further up.

_'A... A person...'_

"U-Um—" She was about to say something, until the anonymous figure lost its balance and fell on the floor, whining a small 'owww!' in the process.

Flaky already felt guilty, and so she rushed towards the person and offered her hand, "Are y-you alright?!" she asked concerned. She didn't quite figure out who she was dealing with due to the obscurity, but judging by the person's boyish voice (and attitude) it was most likely a boy.

The unknown boy rubbed the back of his head painfully, and then tilted his head up. Flaky noticed a certain glow in his eyes, something she believed to be quite frightening.

He slapped her hand away and stood up, mumbling a few words that sounded like cursing, he then switched on the light, revealing himself in the process.

"Ah damn, to think I'd get caught so early..." he muttered while glaring at her, still rubbing the back of his head.

The boy looked like he was about Flaky's height. He had lime green hair sticking out from practically everywhere and a green yellowish left eye, the one on his right was covered by an eye patch; in which she believed to be a pathetic attempt to look fashionable. His taste in clothing seemed rather dull, since he was wearing a long black sweatshirt, dark blue baggy shorts that reached his knee, and red sneakers. Somehow his socks didn't match; one of them was a short white sock on his left foot, while the other was a long black sock that reached his bottom knee. To sum it up; he was one heck of a mess; his only quality was probably his face that looked unbelievably cute. It somehow made her want to pinch his cheeks and twirl him around like a little boy, that thought was later tossed aside when she shook her head suddenly.

"I uh, I'm sorry if I..."

"Shut up," he sighed annoyingly, looking back at the spot up on the highest shelf, she looked up as well, and noticed a glass jar filled with strawberry lollipops.

Flaky glanced at him curiously; he glanced back at her and closed his eyes shyly.

"You... want them?"

"So what if I do?" He snapped, glaring again for no apparent reason. She smiled sweetly, "Want me to try and fetch them for you?"

"Whah?" He snorted, "You're just about the same height as me, what makes you think you can reach it?"

She shrugged, "It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" she said as she stepped on the chair, trying to get the desired object for him.

She didn't know why, but she felt like introducing herself, "I'm Flaky, by the way."

He muttered something, but she didn't quite hear it. Instead, she extended her arm, attempting to reach the jar, standing on her toes while trying her hardest to grab the item. The boy was looking at her impatiently, biting his bottom lip as well.

She extended her arm further, her whole body trembling from the pressure until she finally managed to get it, "There!" She said victorious, the lime-haired boy grinned widely, "Nice! You're not half bad after all."

She was about to jump out of the chair and hand it out to him until she suddenly lost her balance. Flaky gasped as the floor was suddenly getting closer to her face, the fall was going to be quite painful, and so without further thought; she closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the strong impact.

Instead of feeling the pain of having her head cracked open; Flaky felt a strong pair of arms carrying her bridal style with great care, the red-head opened a single eye and saw the cutesy-face of the lime-haired boy, who had a rather disappointed expression.

"I regret ever praising you," he said as he let her down. Flaky mumbled a thank you, to which he replied with a grunt. Giving him the jar, he immediately licked his bottom lip, smiling ridiculously; "Finally..." he whispered to himself as he opened it, his eye glowing with desire for the small amount of candies.

He was about to devour them whole until Lumpy appeared from behind and took them with his free hand while the other held into a notebook.

"These aren't for you," he said in a scornful tone, glaring at the boy who was two heads smaller than him.

He furrowed his brows, "Give em' back."

"Like I said, these aren't for you," he took a lollipop from the jar and licked it slowly, "If you want them, you'll have to deserve them."

Flaky glanced at the lime-haired boy who was glaring intensely at Lumpy, she could tell he didn't like his provocation and seeing how irritated he was, a fight was most likely going to occur.

Flaky passed by the boy and came into Lumpy's line of sight, he blinked twice; the lollipop still in his mouth, "Miss Flaky," he said sweetly, "Is there something wrong?"

"I uh..." She averted her eyes, "Came for a drink, and I d-didn't quite seem to find any water—"

"What are you talking about?" he chuckled, "There's plenty of water here!"

She looked back at the fridge and then glanced at Lumpy, "Aside from canned f-food and eggs, th-there's nothing else."

Lumpy walked towards the sink and turned it on, making the water run, he gestured at it with a small smile, "See? Plenty of water!"

The red-head's eyes widened, "Y-You mean—"

He nodded and smirked, "Get used to it, Miss Flaky. If you need anything, I'll be at the cabin near the river." He said as he walked past them, leaving both Flaky and the lime-haired boy alone.

"Asshole," he hissed in a low tone, Lumpy heard it all too well, and so he stopped and tilted his head to the side, smiling mischievously, "Oh, and Nutty? I forgot to mention that aside this little lollipop jar, there aren't any other sweets in the camp, you'll have to familiar yourself to our 'healthy' regimen."

The boy called Nutty was biting his bottom lip hard, glaring at Lumpy's direction with so much fury that it nearly frightened Flaky.

She sighed and went towards the nearest shelf, taking a glass and inspecting it. Everything was bound to be dirty in here, and it was sometimes good to be actually _precautious _about a few things.

Nutty raised an eyebrow, "You're actually going to drink that shitty water?"

She shrugged, "I don't really have a choice, I'm th-thirsty."

And so she let the water down and filled her glass with some, the liquid didn't look transparent at all and had quite the amount of mysterious unknown minerals floating in the surface. She gulped and closed her eyes, _'There's no other choice, right?'_

Flaky drank it whole in the instant; the lime-haired boy was grimacing at the sight of her drinking such filthy water.

"Ew," he commented, Flaky coughed a few times and looked at her empty glass of water. It wasn't so bad, it just tasted... weird.

"Remind me to drink water from the river later, please..."

He just smiled at her and gave her a small nod.

Flaky smiled back then wiped the corner of her mouth with her fist, "So you're name's Nutty?" She asked sweetly. His smile faded as the look in his eye darkened, "That shitty guy was the one who came up with it... he thinks it's funny to pick on others' handicaps."

She raised an eyebrow, "Handicap? Something wrong with you?"

He sighed, closing his eyes slowly, "Forget it," then looked back at her, "Hey, wanna' check out this camp out together?"

"H-huh?" her eyes widened.

Nutty shrugged, "Oh, you know... exploring might be fun."

This is was definitely not what Flaky had in mind, nor was it in any ways predictable. Just a few minutes ago he was practically sneering at her disgustedly, now he's asking her to explore the camp with him.

It was all too much for her brain to think carefully about his strange change in behaviour, but quite frankly... she didn't care. So far she managed to do well in her quest of 'finding friends' and things were going smoothly.

With a nervous smile, she nodded her head meaning yes, Nutty grinned rather obviously and headed towards the door, opening it with his foot.

"Let's go and check out the forest first, shall we?"

* * *

She wasn't sure how she ended up running away from an angry warthog, or even less holding on the highest tree branch with Nutty distracting the beast by using many suspicious tricks.

They were only having a calm and pleasant walk in the forest. Everything went just fine, well... until Nutty tripped on a baby warthog; thus angering his enormous mother.

The first seconds were extremely heavy, with Flaky trembling and sweating from everywhere and Nutty cursing non-stop under his breath. They both knew what awaited them, and they didn't want to face it.

The wrath of a mother was granted by nature, and Nutty just had trouble keeping up with it. When he had the ability; he would jump over the beast whenever it would charge at him, or dodge its quick attacks without breaking a sweat. This, was probably due to the excessive amount of sugar the boy usually eats, all of that energy didn't come out of nowhere.

"Haha! Try and catch me, you fiend!" Nutty laughed as he dodged another one of its attacks, he didn't seem scared at all, unlike Flaky. She was wondering how he managed to keep his composure in this... 'life and death'(?!) situation.

"B-Be careful N-Nutty! It's charging r-right at you!" Flaky stammered, trying to be of aid. She was already getting tired from gripping on the thick and rough branch and felt like she could let go in any second now.

_'If I fall this time... Nutty won't be able to catch me...' _She thought.

Nutty ran and dodged endlessly until the mommy warthog suddenly started to get tired. Its body was getting wobbly and weak. Then, something caught its attention, something red and flashy dangling on the highest tree branch.

Oh this is gonna' be fun.

The mother warthog charged for the tree and tackled it with all its strength, Flaky felt the tree moving left to right and her panic intensified. Nutty, on the other hand was standing right next to it, eyes wide.

"What the—HEY!" He shouts, "What's the big deal?! I'm your target!"

Seems as though the animal just doesn't care anymore.

_'Is it... targeting me?!'_

And another strong and fierce tackle!

_'N-No! I'm scared! I don't want to fall! I don't want to die! Not now! Not here! I... I!'_

Before she even knew it, her mouth opened wide to let out a loud scream.  
_  
_"HELP!" She yelled, eyes tightly shut.

"SOMEONE HELP!" She again yelled, trying to tighten her grip on the branch. Nutty covered his ears in annoyance, "Shut up! I'll figure out how to distract it soon eno-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a dash of blue appeared out of nowhere and presented itself in front of him. He blinked in surprise then narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Hey... your that weird guy from before," he started. The tall figure in a blue tracksuit laughed.

"Hah, fear not! For I, Splendid, is here to save you!" He grinned while pointing at the discouraged Flaky and then trailed down to point at the angered animal.

"You! Monster!" He smirked, "From now, I'll be your opponent! Brace yourself!"

The animal looked at Splendid for a second, then dashed towards the tree again, tackling it and making Flaky whimper. The blue-haired hero furrowed his brows, "I see, very well... I guess I'll have to charge in first!"

"O-Oi, hey!" Nutty tried to stop him but failed miserably as he was already heading head-first towards the beast at an insane speed and in the blink of an eye; he was already on it, nearly choking it with his arm.

The warthog tried to break free from the deadly grip with all its might, wiggling and struggling; it was nearly about to die if it weren't for Nutty butting in.

"I think that's enough now," he patted him on the back, "She gets the deal, let her go."

"Nonsense! This demon needs proper punishment for harassing a lady!" He insisted.

"She was just trying to protect her kid." He narrowed his eye, ready to throw a glare at Splendid. He glanced at the lime-haired eye-patch boy then sighed.

"Fine..." he mumbled as he let the mother go, it dashed deeper in the forest with its baby following along. Flaky let out a heavy sigh of relief as her heartbeat returned to a moderate level. Splendid glanced up with a determined smile.

"The coast is clear, you may now climb down!"

Sure, wouldn't have been a problem if-

"I... I can't." She averted her eyes, still holding on the branch.

Nutty facepalmed, "Oh great, we got ourselves 'a kitty stuck on a tree'."

Splendid blinked twice, "Eh? Ah...!" he opened his arms wide, "It's fine! I'll catch you!"

"R-Really?" she asked in disbelief, he nodded eagerly, his cerulean eyes shining brightly, "Of course! There's nothing to be afraid of!" he reassured her.

"A-Alright..."

_'I think I should trust him, he did protect me... h-here I go!'_

She let go of the branch and let herself fall while Splendid's gaze did not leave her sight.

Flaky did however not expect to hit the ground on her face.

Everything happened too fast, both Nutty and Splendid were still staring at the highest tree branch as if she was still dangling there. They looked at it for a good five seconds until they realized what just happened.

Splendid glanced at the ground and at Flaky's immobile form, panic suddenly tensing up his whole body.

"Oh... OH! ARE YOU OKAY?!" He squatted next to her, but she did not respond.

Nutty dashed towards her then took a small wooden stick and started poking her body with it.

No reaction.

"Damn, I think she's dead." Nutty said, looking up at Splendid, "Way to go, superman."

"Ah! I didn't—I thought I... wh-..." He glanced at Flaky then held her in his arms, "Please wake up! Miss?! I'm sorry!"

Nutty couldn't help but grimace at the sight of Flaky's face, ouch? Her nose looked like it was broken and it was already bleeding pretty badly, there were one or two bruises on her front and cheeks while the rest was all unbelievably muddy. Splendid didn't seem to care though, as he just kept apologizing and begging her to wake up. Flaky showed a few signs of life after two minutes of inner panic and disgust, her petite form trembling from the terrible pain attacking her whole body.

Splendid smiled in alleviation, "Thank heavens! I thought you were a goner! Are you okay?"

"I'm fwine," she tried to say, "I jwast fweel lwike swomthing's swollen on mwy fwace."

Splendid blinked for a good moment until his expression changed dramatically, he was too shocked at the thought of 'killing someone' that he missed Flaky's many bruises and broken nose.

"Oh, um... yeah, well you see..." he tried to find the right words...

... until Nutty butted in, again.

"You look like shit now," he said bluntly.

Splendid glared at him, "no she doesn't! She's just a bit..."

He raised an eyebrow, "She's just a bit what?"

"Well... a bit out of shape but..."

Nutty sighed in annoyance then looked at the path leading towards the camp, "I think we should head back and try to find something to use... or else she might die of excessive blood loss." He said as he pointed at her bleeding nose.

Flaky touched the area bellow her nostrils and saw blood on her fingers, she gasped and widened her eyes.

"Hwow swevere is wit?"

"It's fine, really!" Splendid helped her back up, "With just a few stitches and some bit of alcohol, you'll look okay again!"

"Rweally?"

He nodded in eager, "Can you walk? Do you want me to carry you?"

"It's fwine," she shook her head and started walking.

"Ahhh shit... I want some sweets so bad."

"Speaking of which, you've got some stuck on your hair." Splendid pointed out, Nutty scratched his head, "Really?" then took out a piece of candy and ate it.

"Ew," he commented. Flaky on the other hand laughed but winced in pain as soon as she did so.

Curse that nose.

* * *

They arrived at the camp after five minutes of walking and Flaky still looked just as awful. Lumpy was nowhere to be seen and nobody passed by, to sum it up... it was bad.

Splendid bit his lip nervously with Nutty throwing him a smug look, "What now?"

"We should find Mr. Lumpy and ask him where they keep the first aids."

"We already looked for him at the cabin near the lake, he's not there... nor is he here." Nutty pointed out, then turned to face Flaky, "Seems like you really are in a deep mess, Flaky."

She looked discouraged for a second, but Splendid did not want to lose hope.

"I'm sure someone has some first aid kit! We just have to look better!"

"Her face can't be fixed with a first aid, dumbass! She needs a doctor! A real one!"

"What's up with you?! Why are you so pessimistic?!"

"And why are you so fucking ridiculous?!"

"Stwop it!" Flaky shouted, but winced once more in pain as she slightly touched her nose. She managed to stop their argument and get their attention somehow.

"I jwast wan't two rwest."

"You don't wanna' fix your nose first?" Nutty asked in an attempt to seem considerate. She looked at the ground for a moment then shrugged, "I'll wait fwor Lwumpy and swee what hwe cwan dwo."

Splendid remained quiet then looked at her pitifully, "I'm truly sorry for not catching you. The least I can do is giving you treatment."

Flaky waved her hand, "Nwo, dwon't worry abwout it, its mwy fwault fwor being clwumsy."

"Uh, I'm the one who tripped on the baby warthog."

"Shwut up Nwutty, its fwine."

He remained quiet and looked at the ground while dusting it off. Splendid give her half a smile, "Alright then, if you need anything... I'll be at the cabin near the tree house."

"Owkay."

"Well then, see ya at the party!"

He walked away, leaving both Flaky and Nutty to themselves. Flaky blinked twice then glanced at Nutty, "Pwarty?"

He shot her a strange look, as if she was a weird alien.

"You didn't know? There's a welcome party and all the Happy Tree Friends' members are invited, it starts at seven PM today."

She looked at her watch and realized it was already five, only two hours... two hours to get ready, to practice her greeting phrases near the mirror, to prepare herself in her journey of finding true friendship and to finally... finally...

"Ow nwo..."

"I told you, you're in a deep mess now, Flakes..."

Flaky turned, alarmed, "Dwid you jwast cwall me Flwakes?"

Nutty shrugged, "Yeah. What? You don't like nicknames?"

She shook her head, "Nwo! I'm hwappy! It's the fwirst time someone ewver gwave me a nwickname!"

"Meh..." he averted his eyes, "You get happy for nothing, that's pretty pathetic... anyways, you should get ready, it starts in two hours and you're far from being presentable."

He was ready to walk away until Flaky called out to him, he turned.

"What?"

"Iwt's nwot the lwast time we'll walk in thwe fworest, rwight?"

Nutty stood there quietly then grinned, "Nah, don't worry, it's definitely not the last time." Then he walked towards the forest again.

_'He's a bit rude... but he isn't so bad, I don't think he's used to hang out with people, maybe were a bit similar.'_

She walked towards her and Petunia's wooden cabin.

_'Then again, that Splendid guy was okay too, he came all the way just to help me, that was nice... though he's not really good at catching people, maybe he'll be my friend too.'_

Flaky was about to enter, but remembered Petunia. She assumed that she was done cleaning but her thoughts were gone when she slowly peeked inside to see that she was scrubbing the corners with a toothbrush. The little red-head sighed and figured it might be best not to disturb her, for her own good she also figured she'd rather not hear another one of her speeches anymore.

_'Petunia's nice... but she gets irritated really fast, I just bought up something related to her parents and I nearly got myself a headache. Nevertheless, I think I should get along with her first, since we share the same room and all.'_

There was nowhere for her to go, and the 'party' starts at seven, she sighed and sat on the grass. Thinking about everything that happened to her so far.

_'I should thank Lumpy for his helpful tour and Flippy for being there when I needed him back at the village...'_

Her thoughts raced back to Flippy.

Flippy... she hadn't seen him for a while, was he resting at his cabin? Did he already meet with his roommate? Was he already making friends?

She shook her head, _'Of course he is! He's very kind and mature, anyone would want to be his friend!'_

"Flaky?" A familiar calm and deep voice called. She tilted her head upwards and saw the one person whom she was just thinking about.

Well well, speaking of the devil.

"Flwippy..."

He sat next to her, "What's wrong? What happened to you?!"

"I fwell."

Flippy stared at her for a moment then took out of his pocket a handkerchief; he slowly yet gently wiped off the mud on her face with great precaution. Good thing she was muddy, or else he would have noticed her flushed cheeks.

"Um, thwank chew..."

"Don't mention it," he chuckled, "You're quite the sight! I can hardly believe you just fell."

Oh, if only he knew... if only.

But she couldn't have just said; 'I was just taking a walk with a guy called Nutty until we got ourselves in a big mess and called out to a 'superhero' who failed miserably to catch me when I voluntarily jumped down a tree.'

No... it would have sounded ridiculous.

In response to his curiosity, she shrugged.

"I was walking in thwe woods then fwell on mwud."

"You must be very fragile; I mean... you broke your nose!"

She averted her eyes, "Ywea..."

After he wiped off all the mud on her face, he could see everything more clearly now. There weren't many bruises; the only ugly sight was her bleeding broken nose.

Flippy laid the handkerchief down then took out of his jacket pocket a few band aids and some alcohol; she threw him a curious look to which he replied with a small laugh.

"Being a war vet means being cautious most of the time, you never know when the enemy might come to attack."

Flaky raised an eyebrow, "Anytwhing ewlse?"

He nodded as he ripped a piece of cloth, "Bandages, stitches, anti-bacterial and some diazepam."

_'Diazepam huh, I heard it's a drug that snipers use to steady their aim, if he carries some with him then it means he must be good with guns.'_

He poured a bit of alcohol on the cloth then wiped her bruises with it gently, she bit her lip in pain.

"Bear with me for a while, okay? I'm almost done."

Flaky nodded then opened an eye to look at Flippy, he was so close... so unbelievably close. He had a very slender figure despite being so well-built, he could have easily been mistaken for a senior in high school, judging by his thin facial features and slender form. Though his military training might have toughened him up quite a lot, he still had the gentle eyes of a youngster.

He was already done in disinfecting her bruises, now the only thing left was...

"Say, Flaky?"

"Ywes?"

"You trust me, don't you?"

She frowned, what's with that question? Oh well, better go along with it.

"Yweah."

"You really do?" he smiled teasingly.

"If yew sway swo."

"Then you'll let me fix your nose?"

"... what."

Before she knew it, Flippy already had her nose in between his index and middle finger, she gasped and looked in panic at Flippy, who remained calm.

"Calm down, I'll be done in a second."

"W-Wait!"

***Crack***

Silence...

(Insert loud scream here.)

**TBC.  
**

* * *

**Yay! Chapter two, DONE.**  
**Now about Nutty and Flaky, no worries! It's only a brother-sister relationship, besides, FLIPPYxFLAKY ALL THE WAY!**

**Though I only introduced Petunia, Splendid and Nutty, I plan to present the rest in the 'party'. The romance is slowly coming up and I'm excited! Oh, and when I mean romance? I also mean gore.**  
**Is there something better than yandere?**  
**Now now, review! Support! See you!**


	4. Chapter Three: It's none of our business

**EDIT: (corrected a few mistakes) A shirtless top... A shirtless top... A SHIRTLESS TOP- Oh if my english teacher saw that... Ouch!  
Just wanted to say that it's fine if you guys wanna' go and straight out murder me for the late update. I wouldn't mind losing one or two lives.  
But beware beware! This chapter is going to get dark! And so is the story!  
Not like I didn't warn you though, *Shrugs*  
besides, the story has just begun.  
And so are my schemes.  
Well, whatever... just remember to review, my lovelies!  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox**

**Chapter Three: "It's none of our business."  
**

* * *

"Oh that's brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Petunia hissed lowly as she opened her suitcase, searching for something in particular, leaving a very uncomfortable Flaky staring at her in the far corner of the room. She obviously looked upset, but she didn't dare to say something in fear of making her snap.

Being precautious was a must, especially near Petunia.

"Sheesh, they could have just—TOLD US about the damn party, if you hadn't come and told me about it... UGHH!"

"Uh, well I d-don't think it would be really f-fancy or anything... wearing casually sh-should be alright—"

"NO, IT'S NOT ALRIGHT!" She shouted, eyes staring dangerously at the poor red-head who was twitching in fright. "We have to be _perfect! _People in this region tend to be judgemental, if we don't raise ourselves higher to their expectations, then we'll surely be victims to their endless gossips! Trust me; I know what I'm talking about." Her hands searched deeper inside her suitcase, throwing left to right some lingerie and other clothes that seemed to be in her line of sight. It appears that Flaky failed again to start a friendly conversation with her, and the atmosphere got awkward real quick with only Petunia's endless muttering and Flaky's quiet twitching to liven up the small room.

_Should I dress up nicely? _She thought to herself, _it's a welcoming party... nothing too... big, right?_

She didn't like standing out, so dressing up plainly was the best option. But even so, perhaps acting girly for once would do her some good, and Petunia was right at some point... people could be judgemental.

But she didn't want to think about her past right now, and let's not forget that _he _is going to attend as well.

... And by 'he', she means Flippy.

Her cheeks flushed, _Why am I thinking about him now? It's—too soon! I can't... I..._

"Hey, Flaky! Are you listening?!" Petunia called, Flaky jumped in surprise and stuttered an apology, making the blue-haired girl sigh.

"Geez_, excu-se_ me for nagging at you! But you should help me out in the very least!"

"O-Okay," she stood up and looked with her, searching for something that'll suit her.

"..Say," she glanced at Flaky, "Did you meet anyone interesting?"

Flaky frowned.

"Wh-What do you mean by 'interesting'?" She asked shyly, Petunia shrugged and went back to her searching.

"Oh, you know... Someone worth to bother, like a potential friend."

_Why am I thinking of Flippy?! _"Y-Yeah, I met some kind people here who h-had the kindness t-to help me out..."

"Oh," she smiled, "That's nice..." She then glanced back at the shy red-head, "Any cute guys?"

Although Petunia used her 'playful' tone, it somehow managed to startle Flaky a bit.

"Ah Um, uhh... ah! I don't... really... eh?"

She rolled her eyes, "Never mind, you're too naive anyways."

Flaky simply nodded and went back to the search, trying to find something suitable for both of them.

Petunia had too many clothes, and all of them were too flashy for her taste. But she didn't have much to say in this, since she had the kindness to let her borrow some and all...  
Plus, she was starting to get awfully quiet.

The little red-head decided to take a small peek at Petunia who was behind her; she was looking at a dark blue piece of cloth intensely, as if it was the most important thing in her eyes. Analyzing the object better, she noticed it was in fact; a dress.

Petunia looked dazed.

"Um?" Flaky was about to ask her if she was alright, until she threw the dress away, startled.

"Yes?" she turned to face her, a small smile illuminating her face.

Flaky didn't like to ask her about it, if she didn't bring it up... then there was no point in insisting.

Besides, it was probably too personal.

"I found... something nice," she smiled, showing her the long yellow shirt in her hands, "I'm sure it'll l-look good on you."

Petunia blinked twice, then smiled.

"You like it?"

Flaky nodded slightly, "Y-Yeah, I like yellow—"

"Then keep it, I didn't wear it in ages." She shrugged then returned to her searching, leaving a slack-jawed Flaky.

"You don't seriously mean it?" Flaky spoke slowly.

"I do, wear it." She insisted, "It'll look _better _on _you_."

She looked at the yellow shirt in her hands then smiled. It had small brownish flower prints on it and was shaped nicely. Enough to not reveal too much of her bust and waist, brownish leaves were also printed on the sleeves, making a nice mature and calm design to it.

It was a very pretty top, and she was right... it would suit her.

"Thank you... thank you very much!" She smiled happily, Petunia smiled back.

"Don't mention it; take it as a 'thank you' for listening to my endless complaints... I know it's annoying." She chuckled.

"N-No! Don't say that!"

Petunia simply grinned then took out of her suitcase a long black skirt and a blue top, looking at them closely. She then stood up and took them both, pulling them near her to see how she would 'supposedly' look with them on.

"Say..." she started, a bit doubtful. Flaky turned to look at her.

"Would these look good on me?" She asked.

The little red-head was not so good in fashion, so she figured her opinion wouldn't really matter. But with Petunia... she was sure anything would look good on her. She had the body, the face, and the atmosphere. A simple glimpse at her and she was sure that any man would go wild.

A girl, a very pretty girl.

"Everything looks good on you, Petunia." She spoke honestly, making Petunia blush.

"You think so?" She bit her lip, trying to hide her bashful smile, "Then I guess I'll wear that."

Flaky nodded, still smiling.

Yes, Petunia was indeed a very pretty girl.

But could she think the same for herself?

Flaky glanced at the mirror.

Long, spiky red hair filled with dandruffs, a sign of both stress and anxiety. Her white round face had visible eye bags, making her look extremely tired while her lips were too thin for her liking.

She was neither fat nor skinny... neither tall nor small... plainly average.

Dark eyes that showed very little sparks and the band aid still covering her round nose.

Average... normal... sometimes even less.

There was no arguing that Flaky wasn't a big fan of her own person.

But even if she wasn't as pretty as Petunia, she wouldn't change herself for anything.

'_Because I'll always be __**me, **__no matter what.'_

And with a heavy sigh, she changed her clothes quietly.

She should try to enjoy the welcoming party, in the very least.

* * *

Nutty wasn't happy, no... he was in a rather—grumpy mood.

Things weren't like he thought them to be, to him; the 'Happy Tree Friends' summer camp was probably the worst thing that existed. Filled with sick bastards (Lumpy mostly) with a stupid 'name' restriction (childish much?) and worst of all – a 'healthy regimen' on the boot.

_'Shit, I need em' sweets,' _he thought, letting a loud and annoyed sigh escape his lips.

He wouldn't have signed the contract, he wouldn't have come, he wouldn't have even _known _about such a camp if it weren't for...

If it weren't for-

"HEYYY!" A very friendly (yet slightly disturbing) boy greeted, his head popping up from under the bed, startling him.

"What's up, comrade! Why tha' long face?" A dark purple-haired boy smiled, looking at him with his big dark green eyes and eye-catching freckles.

Nutty furrowed his brows, "Ugh, get outta' my face!" He said as he pushed him with the palm of his hand, making him fall recklessly on the ground.

"Youch! Aww, you shouldn't be so shy, y'know?!" He laughed while rubbing the back of his head, "We're roommates! We should try and getta' long better!"

_'freakin' jackass,' _he hissed lowly, _'I hate being interrupted when I think!'_

Nutty lifted himself to a sitting position and ran a hand through his lime hair.

Sure, things could have been worse!

... or not.

"Hey Hey Hey!" The boy giggled ridiculously, "Guess what? While I was takin' a walk outside, I saw some fine lookin' girls," he stared at the ceiling dreamily, "One of them was particularly eye-catchin'!" He drooled, then glanced at him; "I'm sure she'd fit to your liking—"

Nutty glared, "Toothy, I don't give a damn."

Toothy pouted, "Aww, cmon'! Don't you wanna' go girl-hunting? Seriously, you're at the age, man! You need some love!"

"God-darn it! Why can't you understand the meaning of 'I don't give a damn'?! I'm not in the mood to go 'girl-hunting', you can go by yourself for all I care."

There was a moment of silence, until Toothy opened his mouth slowly, agape.

"Ohh, so you're into that kinda' stuff huh..."

Nutty narrowed his eyes, "What d'you mean?"

Toothy chuckled while placing his hand on his shoulder, "Tsokay' man, I respect ya... but don't get the wrong idea okay? I hope we can stay as friends throughout the whole summer—"

"I'm perfectly straight, thankyouverymuch." He removed his hand from his shoulder, "Look, the only thing_ I'm _interested at..." his yellow eye sparkled, "are sweets, got that?"

Toothy nodded, feeling defeated; "Gosh, fine! I just wanted you to act like a normal teenager."

"Well you failed miserably," he mocked him.

A normal teenager.

_'Again—I guess I'll never truly be able to be just that... normal.'_

He smiled to himself.

_'Yeah, it's a real pain.'  
_

* * *

The room was getting colder second by second, and so was he.

He's been trapped in there for god knows how long, and he had no idea how much longer he'll be able to last. The darkness consumed him and he was about to fall into insanity again.

He didn't want to lose.

He hated losing, more than anything in this wicked world of his.

His stained hands were starting to get awfully smelly, drying themselves and making the skin underneath unbearably itchy. The nightmare was far from over, that he knew all too well, but it was still worth the struggle. That man just _loved _to tease him, didn't he? That fucking moron, sitting on his leather chair, smoking on his cigar and smirking all of the goddamn time...

What more could he take from him?

The game was over, for him at least. He had done everything for his sake; he sacrificed his name, his memories, and his own _self. _He took it all and spit it back at his face, turning him into a laughing stock; he mocked him, sabotaged him and finally threw him into that hell-hole with the darkness being his sole company.

Greedy son of a bitch.

And that bastard of Lumpy... Licking his boots all the time, obeying him like he was a celestial being.

He shouldn't have let him sign the contract; he shouldn't have let him take over.

And now look what he did-

He left him all alone, to rot in hell.

He bit his bottom lip so hard that it bled, the chains were too tight on his body, he couldn't move.

He did all of that, just to get rid of him.

"You threw yourself in the arms of the devil," he said quietly, "And now you dispose of what's most precious to you..."

He looked at ground.

"Why did you hand me over? To that fucking bastard too!"

He clenched his fists.

"YOU FUCKING NEED ME!" He yelled, "YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO LIVE ON WITHOUT ME!"

He tried to break free; he tried to break those awfully tight chains.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO SURVIVE WITHOUT ME?!"

The rusted chains bruised his whole body, making him bleed from everywhere.

"YOU NEED **ME! **YOU NEED **ME!**"

His blood dripped on the floor, staining the cold ground.

"I AM YOUR VERY OWN IDENTITY, DAMN IT!"

The blood was spilling out very quickly, yet he still didn't feel any pain.

"I PROTECTED YOU! ALL THE TIME!"

Sweat and blood was now mixed together.

"YOU'D BE DEAD IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME!"

He suddenly stopped, panting loudly and craving for oxygen. The room was too dark, it fitted him well.

Darkness within darkness.

Between his breaths, he began to chuckle.

"You... were lucky last time."

A smirk appeared in the corner of his lips.

"But your luck ran out ever since you disposed of me."

He looked up; his fierce yellow eyes were glaring at the darkness.

"I don't need you anymore; I don't need you to be somebody."

He could see it; he could already see an opening from afar.

"I'll find my own identity, you just wait and see."

He realized that the darkness already consumed him the moment he opened his eyes, the moment he found himself in control.

"There can only be one of us..."

His smile became wicked.

"Everything... I'll take everything away from you—"

From a low chuckle, to a hysteric laugh.

He fell into insanity once more.

But then again, that's just what he is.

_Insane._

* * *

"I was right," Petunia smiled, impressed by her own skills, "You DO look great!"

Flaky looked at her, shyly averting her eyes, "D-Do I?"

Petunia spent an hour looking for the 'perfect' makeup combination for little Flaky, and boy, she did good! The light pink lipstick suited her lips well and the light blush gave her a very naive and pure vibe, with peach-coloured nail polish and lily perfume.

"You'll be finding the man of your dreams tonight, my dear Cinderella!" She joked playfully, Flaky blushed.

"A-Ah! Don't be silly! I won't—I can't—"

"Aw, cmon'! Don't be so modest, you look cute!"

And she was right.

Her outfit was pretty simple though, yet it managed to suit her personality in a way. Her yellow top matched well with her dark Capri pants and flats. Her long red hair was tied up in a high ponytail while her bangs were casted aside using a yellow hair clip, allowing a better sight of her pale round face.

The power of makeup was amazing.

_'That's not the real me though,'_ Flaky thought while looking at her reflection again.

Petunia looked at her for a moment, "Something wrong?" she asked, Flaky turned at looked at her, slightly moved by her concern.

She smiled, "It's nothing, don't mind me."

With a simple nod of approval, Petunia pointed at the door with determination, "Well! It's now or never!" She said proudly, "Let's get outta' here and turn some heads now, shall we?"

And thus she stretched her hand for Flaky to grab, but as soon as she was about to do so, she pulled away and looked at her with worry.

"Did you uh... wash your hands?"

"Uhh... yes."

"Alrighty then!" She said as she grabbed her hand, "Let's go!"

And both of them happily walked towards the canteen, where the party was starting.

It was bright, cheerful, and surprisingly well decorated.

There was a good dozen of people inside, all drinking soda and having fun with some catchy-music playing along. She assumed they were all members of the Happy Tree Friends summer camp, and most importantly—potential friends.

This was it, finally.

"You nervous?" Petunia asked.

"A bit," she admitted while chewing her lip.

"Hey! Don't do that! You'll remove that pretty lipstick off!"

"S-Sorry, my bad." She chuckled.

"Look, your way too tense." Petunia poked her on the shoulder, "You need to loosen up, try and have fun for a while! I transformed you into a babe, you better put your beauty to good use, ya hear?!"

"Y-yeah, but—"

"No 'buts!" She warned, "You look great, so have faith in yourself!"

Just as those words escaped her mouth did a very attractive petite girl in a mini pink cupcake-printed dress appeared right before them, with short pink hair and pink heels. She wore a very intoxicating yet pleasant perfume, making her presence noticed in meters away.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice was girly and cute in many ways, "I'm looking for my darling, have you seen him anywhere?"

Petunia stood there, looking at her wide-eyed, not believing the troubling existence that presented itself in front of her. Flaky did the same too, but did a good job in correctly hiding it.

But the pinkette's most eye-catching feature was probably her gigantic jiggly bungly diddly ding dongs.

_'A-Are those real?!' _Petunia mentally screamed at herself.

"So... have you seen him?" She spoke again, making them snap back to reality. Flaky looked at Petunia, who was awfully silent.

Flaky decided she had to answer in her stead.

"Um, how does h-he look like?"

The girl giggled in a girly matter while resting her index finger on her lower lip, looking up for some unknown reason.

"Well, he's about the same age as me~" She started, "He's pretty tall and has curly blonde hair with cerulean eyes and pale creamy skin!" She giggled again, "To sum it up, he's the best-looking boy in here!"

Petunia gritted her teeth in annoyance, "We haven't seen such a guy, sorry."

She looked down, "Oh... mhmm, too bad! Guess I'll go hunt him down myself! Teehee!" She turned, ready to leave "I'll be going now—OH! I haven't introduced myself yet!" She smiled.

The pinkette stretched out her hand for a shake, "They named me Giggles, nice to meet you!"

Petunia did no move whatsoever to shake her hand, and so Flaky did in her stead.

"Flaky, s-same here." She said shyly, Giggles smiled warmly.

_'What a cute girl...'_

Giggles glanced at Petunia, and so stretched out her hand for her to shake as well.

Instead, she looked at her palm and asked coldly, "How many times a day do you wash your hands?"

The pinkette blinked twice in bewilderment, Flaky couldn't believe it.

"Oh, uh..."

The little red-head jumped in between them, "She has some slight OCD so please excuse her!" she said in a hurry, "We'll be on our way now, right Petunia?!"

"Yeah," she muttered.

"I hope y-you'll find your sweetheart soon!" She said as she took Petunia's hand, "Bye!"

Giggles looked at them curiously while waving her hand, not knowing what she could have possibly done to annoy her.

"Ugh what a bimbo!" Petunia hissed, "I hate girls like that!"

"That wasn't really nice," Flaky said, "You could've tried to be friendly with her, she didn't seem s-so bad."

"Oh puh-lease!" petunia rolled her eyes, "That girl's a show off! Referring her boyfriend to 'darling' and saying how amazing he looks, seriously though! Didn't they teach her to be discrete?!"

"Maybe, but it wouldn't hurt to put on a facade right? I mean—you did say that people are very judgemental r-right?"

She sighed, defeated; "I guess so..."

"We should go and sit down," Flaky suggested with a small smile, "Otherwise we came for nothing."

"You're right, let's go and have some fun!"

Relieved, Flaky began to walk alongside Petunia, talking about their future plans and how the summer camp would turn out to be. The ambiance was just right, everyone looked to have fun, it was a joyful atmosphere and it pleased her a lot.

Petunia on the other hand, kept staring and eyeing everyone. Judging their outfits and their looks, analyzing every single member of the camp. Flaky started to wonder how a person can be so worried about other people's opinions while she kept judging them herself.

"Not many cute guys in here," she grumpily said, "It's such a waste!"

Flaky couldn't help but laugh nervously, "Hah? W-well don't worry about that, I'm sure y-you'll find someone to your liking!"

"Pfft!" She waved her hand dismissively, "As if! I'm very picky you kno—OUF!" She muffled as she hit someone's back, falling in the process as well. Flaky covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at Petunia with worry.

The blue-haired girl rubbed the back of her head and roared in anger, "Hey! Look where you're going!" Which should be a shame since she was actually the one spaced out, and thus the one who should look where she's going.

But she immediately regretted saying those words.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." the man said in embarrassment, "I wish I could help you stand up but—as you can see... I can't." He chuckled nervously.

In front of her was a tall man with shoulder-length orange hair tied in a small ponytail, he had gentle eyes with the same colour of his hair and wore a white sleeveless top, he smelled nice and looked clean. Very very clean.

But what struck her most were his arms-

He didn't have any, actually.

She suddenly felt impolite to stare at him so openly and stood up by herself, trying to hide her blush.

"N-No... it's okay," she said slowly, "I'm sorry for bumping into you."

"Its fine," he shrugged.

Flaky glanced at the blushing Petunia, and smiled to herself. She poked her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear, "I'll be leaving you both, good luck."

She was about to protest until Flaky disappeared in the small crowd, leaving her alone with the boy.

"Sh-Shoot!" She mumbled to herself, and then threw a glance at the boy.

He tilted his head to the side while smiling, "Want to have a drink?"

She smiled shyly while twirling a strand of her blue hair, "Sure."

* * *

_'They look so cute together,' _she thought to herself while looking at them both. It was the first time she saw Petunia act that way, (not that she knew her long enough, though) and it was pretty surprising for a difficult person such as her.

For the first time, she didn't feel uncomfortable in the crowd. No, she was actually feeling at ease, surrounded by people who all had their very own personality, who were all having fun.

She sat on a table and admired the joyful ambiance, for once people didn't mind her, for once nobody pointed their finger at her, judged her and mocked her.

For once she was able to fully contemplate at the world without being laughed at.

She closed her eyes slowly, listening to the music, the members' joyful talks and laughter, the sound of glass colliding and the smell of both perfume and food filled the whole canteen.

It was pleasant.

"Daydreaming?" A familiar voice said behind her, startling her as well.

She turned, a shy smile illuminating her face.

"A-are you making fun of me?"

He remained silent for a moment, pretending to think then grinned; "What If I am?"

Flaky shrugged, "If you are, then it can't be helped."

Flippy sat down in front of her, gently meeting her gaze.

"I'm just joking," he said softly, "I thought you might want a bit of company."

She appreciated the gesture, even if she looked pathetic for being all alone at the party. But she didn't mind, because she was used to it anyway.

But Flippy's company was more comfortable.

He looked stunning, with his dark jeans and black short-sleeved shirt that was tight enough to embrace his amazing chest. He still wore his military boots and dog tags though, but that only kept making him look even more attracti—'_wait what?!'_

Flaky blushed, averting her dark orbs from his gentle greens.

Flippy tilted his head curiously while pouting in an adorable matter, "Something wrong?" he teased her, like she was a small baby.

She threw him a slightly angered glance, "N-nothing's wrong, why?"

"You seem troubled," he snickered, "Something bothering you?"

"No," she looked away, again.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"That so?"

"Y-Yeah!"

"Mhmm-hmmm..."

Was he making fun of her?!

"I'm just-! A bit nervous..."

His eyes widened in honest stupefaction, "Nervous? Hah... why so?"

She shrugged, "I just am."

"Hnnnnnnn?"

"Stop it!" She finally laughed, "Stop teasing me!"

"Well I can't help it if you're always so reserved," he scratched his chin, "I want to get to know you better." He admitted.

_'He... he wants to know me...?!'_

Did he perhaps want to be her friend?

Her?

A good for nothing girl like her?

"B-But I'm not really that interesting."

"What makes you think that?"

"I... I'm often told that I'm boring, plain and vague," she looked at the ground.

"And who was the idiot who said that?"

"Well, my classmates—"

"Oh, come on..." he smiled, "Have a bit of self-confidence, if you keep on minding what other people think about you, then you'll never live on freely."

He stretched out his hand and removed a strand of her hair that fell loose, "You're a good girl, you should know that," he spoke softly.

Flaky flushed red like a cherry tomato.

"Th-thank you..."

"Don't thank me," he slowly shook his head, "I'm just speaking honestly here."

She smiled; he really was a kind and gentle person.

She felt so much at ease, just being next to him.

With him around, she felt like she could accomplish anything.

And then it struck her.

"Say, Flippy?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you join Happy Tree Friends?"

The moment she spoke those words did his look darkened. She felt horrible that instant, afraid that she asked something too personal.

She was about to apologize until he answered.

"I came here to get rid of something." He said coldly.

Flaky remained quiet, listening carefully.

"It bothered me for years, so I thought it would be for the best to get it over with."

He looked scary somehow, so intense, so focused and determined. If she didn't know him better, then she would have probably been scared to death.

The best thing was probably to calm him down.

"Flippy—" She was about to comfort him until the music suddenly stopped.

Everyone's attention was suddenly focused on Lumpy, who was standing in the midst of them all, clearing his throat.

"I can see you're all here," he smiled, "Good. I'll be able to make my announcement that way."

He took out of his pocket a piece of paper and unfolded it, "It is with great pleasure and honour that we welcome you in the 'Happy Tree Friends' summer camp!" He smiled, "Seriously though, thanks... even I can't believe so many people would actually want to come in such a place, phew!" he wiped off some sweat.

Faint giggles were heard in the canteen.

"Anyways," he threw the piece of paper, "Let's cut through the chase," he said as he took out of his other pocket a remote and pressed a button, turning on the TV on the far side of the room.

The screen lit and showed the list of the 'Happy Tree Friends' members, all of them had their given names following by the number '5' next to each and every one of them.

What were those numbers for?

"As you can see," he gestured towards the giant TV, "We have all of your basic information, right here. That way we'll be sure to keep track of you all throughout our little 'game'." He smiled.

Flaky threw a worried glance at Flippy, who remained surprisingly calm.

She had a feeling... a very bad feeling.

"The games rules are pretty simple, actually." He closed his eyes while grinning, "If you think about it, it's almost like a videogame, except its real... and painful."

Nutty, who was sitting on a table in the far opposite of the room alongside Toothy removed the lollipop from his mouth, listening silently.

"All of you have exactly five chances in this game."

Splendid stopped eating the food on his table to pay more attention at what Lumpy was saying.

"Well," he snorted, "more precisely, five _lives."_

Giggles held her 'darling's' hand tightly, looking at him with a slightly worried expression, to which he answered with a anxious one.

"The rules are simple, _kill or get killed._"

_'Is he joking?! Please tell me he is!'_

"There are weapons hiding everywhere in the camp, quite the variety; If I may say so myself." He rubbed his chin with great interest.

Petunia furrowed her brows, and so did Handy.

"Thing is, once you get killed; you lose a life. And the killer gets it."

Flaky started trembling, he must've been joking.

"You respawn the day after, fully healed. But careful though, if you lose all of your lives—you're officially disqualified! Meaning..." his smile widened, "You get stuck in the camp forever, bound in an endless loop of tortures and death. You can call it hell; I guess... pretty much the same thing."

Flippy glared at Lumpy, a yellow light shining deeply within his green orbs.

"The winner is the last one alive, and so the lucky person who would be able to make it out and leave this place, but with a bonus!" He joyfully said, "Ah—But that's a secret."

_'It's a lie... It's a lie... right?!'_

"Of course, any attempt of escaping would be pretty reckless.—"

"What is this nonsense?! Five lives? Kill or get killed? Really, if it's supposed to be a joke, then it's far from humouring us!" A man wearing glasses with light blue hair interrupted, looking at him sceptically.

Lumpy blinked twice, "Ah? But I'm not joking, this is all very serious."

"Yeah right, as if we'd believe you!" Toothy butted in, standing up abruptly. Nutty glared at him, "Oi! Sit back down!"

"No! This guy's nuts! Really, it's supposed to be a summer camp, not a battlefield!"

"Mhmm... you guys want to leave, I assume?" he said smugly.

The glasses-guy and Toothy both nodded, "There's no need for us to stay longer anyway, this whole camp is bullshit!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? The exit's just in front of you!" He gestured at the door, both of them stormed outside, not bothering to look back.

"We should go too," Petunia spoke to Handy softly, who nodded.

They were about to stand up until they heard a loud yell.

Everyone rushed outside, curious of what could have happened.

Then, they saw the unbelievable.

"Th...The road... It's... It's gone!" Toothy stuttered while pointing at the dark area in front of them.

There was no escape.

The whole camp was surrounded by endless black, as if it was isolated from the world. An unknown force field stopped everyone from going in... and out.

"Like I said, attempting to escape would be pretty reckless..." he grinned, "Since you guys officially aren't part of the real world anymore!"

The man named Sniffles turned around, facing him with a look of terror, "What on earth do you mean?!"

Lumpy shrugged, "Meh, like I said... you're no longer part of the real world."

Flaky backed away slowly, until she collided with something on her back. She turned and noticed Flippy, who held her by the shoulders.

"Calm down," he whispered, "It'll be fine, stick close to me."

She gulped and nodded slowly.

"Well now, I guess you can say that we've been taken in another realm."

Nutty glared at the floor, then looked for someone within the crowd.

"So—any questions?"

They were all too shocked to speak.

"No questions? Good. Now, may the game... begin."

**This Chapter's Ending Theme: Kyouki Chinden – Yousei Teikoku.**

**TBC.**

**Now before you go and shout how some of the characters are out of character—ITS TOO SOON! Really! I don't plan on making them THAT different from their original personalities! It's just that this fanfic is supposed to have lots of content and I am DESPRATE for support until I reach my goal – the ending!**

**I am proud, man I am so proud of this chapter! Come on, review review? *wink wink* I'm sorry if you encounter some mistakes, though... I ain't a native English-speaker. Gomenasai.**

**So... about the Chapter Ending Theme thing... yeah, I'll be doing that often. You can say it's for the reader's satisfaction, I mean... ambiance building! Yeah, you can call it like that. I chose Kyouki Chinden for this chapter because it's one heck of a song and it suits the fanfic in general, I'll be posting the song's link on my profile to avoid any pointless search. And once again, thanks for reading, support me until I finish this, okay? Carnage Paradox is far from over!**


	5. Chapter Four: We have no time

**EDIT: I practically RAPED the 'submit document' button, YEAH, THIS IS HOW BAD MY INTERNET IS!  
And another (regrettably) late update!  
First of all, I have to thank you all for the amazing support! These enthusiastic reviews are pouring like honey~**

**You might get confused throughout the story, I can relate to that; however, if you have any type of questions regarding the chapters, events and plot; then you're free to send a PM in which I'll gladly reply. (Without spoiling anything, of course.)**  
**So please please PLEASE, if you're confused or anything; just ask! Because like I previously said (uh... did I?) there will be loads of plot twists and I DO actually intend to add many surprises to the story, so don't quit reading until the very END, don't miss out a single word because each of it counts, okay?! (oof, getting emotional there...)**  
**... What am I getting so worked up for anyways?**

**Enjoy this chapter.  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Four: "We have no time."  
**

* * *

_"You should be afraid..." he said grimly, "Such a frail person like you has no chance to win."_

_'...Who?'_

_"It's pointless to try, why don't you give up?"_

_'Give up, why...? Who is this person?'_

_"They are all after you, you've been hiding for too long," the figure approached her. She couldn't tell who it was, due to the darkness engulfing them._

_She looked up at him, eyes narrowing in an attempt to see him a bit clearly._

_"And now... you came to me, helplessly." He looked at the ground, his eyes shining brightly._

_'I don't... I... what?'_

_"Even though... you** saw.**"He clenched his fists._

_'What did I see?'_

_"It might happen to you too, you know?"_

_'I don't understand...'_

_"You're a member, they gave you your name; your weakness."_

_'Why can't I talk back?'_

_"Please don't do this... don't depend on me."_

_'Who are you?!'_

_"If you do... If you do..." He started trembling, his body was tensing up._

_Then the glow..._

_**"I'LL TAKE ADVENTAGE OF YOU.**"_

Dark black frightened eyes shot wide open; her whole body was trembling and sweating from fear. Gasping and craving for oxygen, she looked in bewilderment her surroundings, only but to find herself in an unknown room.

'_A... A dream...' _She thought while resting her hand close to her heart, feeling it speed down.

A truly unsettling dream.

She wasn't sure what made her so scared, there wasn't anything particularly frightening about it. It was just... bizarre. She couldn't understand what the man was trying to tell her, nor did she even manage to know who she was dealing with. But even so, it felt so familiar... like some sort of...

... Flashback?

Flaky shook her head, erasing any ridiculous thought from her mind. It wasn't the time to worry about such trivial things.

The first thing she figured would be best to do was to check out her surroundings, right now identifying her position was more important than to wander off there and there in her absurd thoughts.

She stood up slowly, eyes darting left to right. She wasn't sure how she ended up there, last time she swore she was with Flippy and the others; listening to Lumpy's speech. Or rather... that's what she believed. It was already pretty hard to figure out whether Lumpy was joking or not, but she most definitely hoped he did.

The room she was in was too dark for her taste, and there were many strange noises coming from outside.

Slowly, Flaky stood up; looking around with her bright dark eyes. Getting out of there and finding the rest of the happy tree friends' members to settle things out seemed like a good plan to her.

She suddenly felt her phone vibrating, indicating her that she received a message. Her lips curved into a relieved smile as she took out her cell phone from her pocket, switching it on in hopes to read a message from her mother.

But to her great dismay, it was empty.

_'Another empty message? W-What the-?'_

She sighed and searched her contact list for her mother; she wanted to hear her comforting voice, speak to her and tell her all about that madness, about Lumpy's speech, about everything!

Putting her phone close to her ear, she waited for her mother to pick up. If there was something she needed at the moment, then it was definitely her mother's comfort!

However, she did not respond.

Flaky bit her lip and tried to call her again.

Still no response.

"What are you doing, mom? Answer!" She hissed as she tried again, but in vain.

Sighing, she started searching her contact list for her father's number, he would answer for sure.

But to her dismay, he did not either.

Flaky began to panic.

"Wh-What? Why aren't they answering? What—"

She shook her head violently then pinched her cheek, hard.

"C-Calm down... they're probably busy." She reassured herself, it had to be it.

Nodding, Flaky spotted the wooden door that lead outside and made her way towards it until something particularly sharp and shiny caught her eye.

It was a small sickle, lying randomly on the ground, waiting to be used.

Her eyes widened, Lumpy didn't lie when he said there was going to be weapons hiding everywhere in the camp.

She gulped.

"I-It's not l-l-l-like... it's actually real, no?" She muttered to herself as she approached the weapon. "Maybe it's just a p-prank?"

Flaky squatted next to it, still looking at it ever so intently. It was as if she was fascinated by it, as if it sent her silent messages.

Hesitantly, she picked it up and poked it on the tip of its blade, she instantly pulled her finger back the moment she injured herself.

_'I barely touched it.'_

"I-It's real..." she whispered in disbelief. Looking at the small drop of blood making its way down her finger.

There was no way the game was real, right?

... right?

* * *

"Well now, I guess you did a pretty good job after all." The man smirked while lighting his cigar. Lumpy rolled his eyes dramatically. He wanted to just throw a knife at him and get it over with, because come on... how many times did he underestimate him?

His guess: just as many times as there are stars in the sky.

Since the beginning of the game, he had a gut feeling that this outrageous bastard was going to start lecturing him over and over about his 'role'. Sure thing, he didn't mind one or two scolds, but repeatedly? Damn it, give the guy a break! He didn't have all day, plus there were the members to take care of and the game, if he couldn't understand that, then what was the point in picking _him _to be the host?

He just wanted to get it over with and... Retrieve what he had long waited for.

Of course, it wasn't like he cared.

Fucking bastard.

"There's one thing I want to ask you, though." He said, bringing him back to reality.

"Sir...?"

"Why didn't you tell them the consequences of 'not playing'?"

Lumpy blinked twice, staring at him openly. 'Why', he asked... wasn't it already simple? Did he forget already? After all those 'rounds'?

A smile illuminated his face.

"Not to worry, sir. There was no need for that." He chuckled lightly, swinging his leg back and forth.

"How come?"

The light blue-haired man simply grinned, "Because _he's _most definitely playing."

* * *

Every step she took was starting to get heavier and heavier, the atmosphere along with is as well. Her eyes kept darting left to right as she walked deeper into the forest.

Her heart was beating at insane speed and didn't want to calm down, the voice in her head kept telling her that somebody was going to pop out of nowhere and slit her throat, stab her, or even mutilate her at any second. Everything was possible at that point, and with her going paranoid? It could only get worse.

She wanted to believe in everybody, because as absurd as it sounded; there was a chance that none of it was true, that it was all just a silly dream and that she would wake up a moment or two later.

It could only be that; a dream, or the painful reality.

She pinched her cheek numerous times, and it hurt; it hurt a lot.

If there were a possibility that she was sleepwalking in her own house and pinching herself as well, then she would gladly believe it.

How did she end up in that situation? How did she suddenly faint after Lumpy's speech then woke up in a wooden cabin deep inside the woods? Where were the others? Where was Flippy? How did he do? Was he okay? Are they taking part of the game, are they _playing?_

Flaky clenched her fists, squeezing the back of the sickle tighter.

"Get a hold of yourself..." she breathed, "No one, is going to kill you."

She nodded, "Yeah, its j-just absurd... no one's going to actually c-come and—"

She flinched the moment she heard sounds coming from the bushes. Her eyes widened in both fear and surprise; was it a small animal? Or...

Flaky grabbed on her sickle tightly, holding it close to her chest; then gulped.

"Is... is somebody... th-there?" She spoke slowly, trying to articulate.

There were no response.

Steadily, she approached the bush; her sickle still at hand. She was chewing on her bottom lip so hard it nearly bled. The voice in her head kept tormenting her non-stop.

She hated that voice, that doubtful voice, she hated it so much-

Flaky took one step closer...

_'He'll Kill You He'll Kill You He'll Kill You...'_

It stopped moving.

_'__**HE'LLKILLYOUHE'LLKILLYOUHE'LLKILLYOUHE'LLKILLYOU...'**_

She lifted her sickle up high, ready to strike.

_**'DoN'tLeTHImKiLLyOu! DoN'tLeTHImKiLLyOu!'**_

_'Sh-Shut up already! Nobody's going to kill me!'_

She hesitantly extended her left hand out to the bush, making sure to confirm if there was truly someone on the other side. If yes, then perhaps he/she wasn't playing as well?

Gulping one last time, Flaky finally gathered up the courage to push the bush on the other side and-

"UWAAAH!"

In an instant she found herself on the ground, pointing her sickle at the unknown figure in front of her, her hand shaking from fear.

"S-STAY B-BACK!" She warned helplessly, the man lifted his hands up defensively, being just as afraid as her.

"Woah! Calm down! I'm not going to harm ya', see? I'm unarmed!" He tried to smile. Flaky lowered her weapon slowly, looking at him cautiously.

"Y-You mean that you're—"

He slowly shook his head, "Don't worry, whatever that silly little 'game' is... I'm not playing it."

She looked at him for a moment; her look was blank; as if she was just processing what was happening.

He wasn't playing.

Just like her.

Her lips curved into a big warm smile as she stood up, tears began to pour from her eyes.

"I... I..." She murmured quietly, the turquoise hair-coloured boy lowered his hands and approached her slowly, tilting his head curiously.

"Are you okay? You look kinda' pale..."

She lifted her head up, shaking.

"No... I'm fine, I was just..." She wiped away her tears, "Surprised... and relieved that I finally found somebody."

He grinned happily, "So am I! I was running around in the forest looking for everyone but found none... My name's Russell, what's yours?"

"Flaky," she smiled back, wondering why she didn't mention her real name as well. It wasn't like it was important; she just figured it ought to be... 'normal'.

But the voice deep inside her head told her not to tell her real name.

Russell removed his long turquoise braid from his shoulder, looking at her with his determined aqua-blue eyes; "So... any idea of the situation?" He asked seriously. Flaky removed the dust from her clothing while shaking her head, "N-No... not really, I can't seem to know where I-I a-a-am. I remember b-being with the o-others back in th-the camp, then... I woke up and f-found myself in a cabin deep within th-these w-woods." She explained, trying to stop her tears from pouring out. Russell scratched his head, his expression grim.

"So I wasn't just hallucinating, huh?"

Flaky raised a curious eyebrow, "H-Hallucinating?" she repeated, he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah well, when I woke up I honestly thought I was having a freakish dream, that the whole 'Happy Tree Friends' summer camp was a lie. I mean, it doesn't make sense... one moment you're listening to that dude... Lumpy, was it? And then—You go and... _Teleport _somewhere else and have some sort of _vision _and—"

"W-Wait, what do you mean b-by vision?" She asked, interested in what he was about to say. Russell shrugged.

"Bleh, dunno' if it actually was a vision or another dream. Saw' some weird lookin' people staring at me and saying complete bullshit in my ear, like some sort of 'escape plan' or whatever, they looked rather familiar though... can't say I know any more than this."

Flaky bit her lip while squeezing her sickle harder.

"Did y-you see... a man with golden eyes?" She asked again, Russell began rubbing his chin while trying to remember.

"Golden eyes, huh? I don't think I've seen a guy with those..."

She sighed in relief; that was good. Somehow she didn't understand why that 'person' freaked her out, even though he did absolutely _nothing _to her, he just stood there and... Talked. And she just stared, listening ever so quietly. He was playing the monologue, as far as she had heard, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't speak, talk back, or even blink for that matter.

Flaky was forced into listening and watching.

And that gaze... that terrifying golden gaze, gave her the feeling that her end was coming soon.

The red-head sighed again while scratching her jaw, she had to forget it. It wasn't like it was important or anything as such, besides; the game was by far, more intriguing.

"Russell?" She called in a low tone, the turquoise-haired boy tilted his head with a small boyish smile.

"Yea?"

"Do you perhaps want to... accompany me?"

Russell blinked twice, his smile fading into a grim line. Flaky wondered if she said something inappropriate for him to switch expressions so quickly, after all... it was in those kind of situations that people had to rely on each other, right? Russell didn't look like the guy that would backstab you, in fact; he seemed sorta' friendly.

She believed it was okay to trust him, perhaps he didn't feel at ease with her...?

Wait... maybe he didn't trust her?!

Flaky's eyes widened, understanding the gravity of the situation. She was mentally smacking her forehead for being so dense. Of course! The 'game'! How could she be as stupid as to gamble with a 'life &amp; death' situation?!

Just as she was about to apologize, Russell started talking.

"Are you... really okay with me tagging along?"

"Huh? O-of course! I mean—Wouldn't it b-be better to g-go together? S-since both of us are n-not playing then I thought it c-could be okay to—"

Russell chuckled, "You're really something alright! To believe in me like that, you must have a big heart."

Flaky tried to hide her embarrassed blush while averting her eyes, he was right; she was too light-headed for a person and didn't even think _twice _that Russell might be in fact, bluffing. Though her senses told her he wasn't, she had to admit that it was pretty reckless.

But if he was truly playing, then he would have killed her the moment he spotted her.

She figured it was okay to trust him.

"I'm s-sure we would make a g-good team, s-s-s-so do you want t-to o-or n-not?"

The turquoise-haired boy grinned widely, "Heh, why not? Might be fun!"

Flaky smiled back, suddenly feeling like her heart became ten times lighter.

"Well now, where should we go?" He asked, suddenly looking left to right. The forest was dark and unexpectedly deep, they were most likely not that far from the camp. Flaky remembered the way perfectly, that small walk she had with Nutty some time ago actually paid off.

"I think the c-camp's this way," she pointed at the east, recognizing the tree she was dangling on when they were attacked by the mother warthog.

Russell looked at the direction Flaky was pointing, realizing how unbelievably dark it was, then turned to face her with a slight gulp.

"You sure that's the right way?"

Flaky glanced at him, looking determined.

"I'm positive."

"Well!" He sighed, "I guess there's only that way to go, huh?"

"Still better than to sit here and wait for death," She said grimly, Russell wondered how that girl managed to switch from being terrified to determined.

It didn't matter much.

And so, they began walking their way towards the camp; not knowing of the ominous presence following them silently from behind.

* * *

A few drops of water fell from the ceiling to Splendid's nose, making him twitch displeasingly. The blue-haired hero slightly opened his eyes, his vision being quite blurry and uneven, he noticed a hole on the ceiling and concluded that he was definitely not in his cabin.

No, he was in a rundown place; now that was for sure.

Slowly, he stood up; cursing lightly at his painful headache. Rubbing the back of his head, he inspected the room he was in with great precaution, muttering a 'where am I?'.

"You're finally up," a familiar, arrogant voice said, making him frown. He turned and looked at the far and dark corner of the room, where an anonymous figure was sitting on. A glint of a green yellowish eye was seen, and knowing that color, that could only mean one person.

"... Nutty?" he muttered, confused. The figure stood up and revealed itself by stepping near the window, where the full-moon lighted him.

"Yo," he greeted lamely, "You okay?"

Splendid grabbed his head with both his hands, "Ughh, I don't think my head's working well..."

Nutty rolled his eyes dramatically, and then squatted next to him; letting an annoyed sigh escape his lips.

"Stop complaining, my head hurts too, you know?"

The hero whined, "But it's just too painful! What's happening? Where are we anyway?!"

"Dunno'." Was all the eye-patch boy could answer.

Splendid simply wished he wasn't in the same room with that kid. Next to him, his headache was by far more pleasurable.

"Do you remember anything?" Nutty asked, bringing him back to reality. Splendid slowly lifted his head, trying to remember.

"I think I do..."

"Yea?"

"Well... Not entirely," he mumbled.

"Oh..." he breathed, "That's too bad."

The hero eyed him suspiciously, "Too bad? Why so?"

"Nothing," he sighed again.

"We were... at the camp weren't we?"

"Yup." He nodded.

"And... Lumpy did a speech, didn't he?"

"That's right," he yawned.

"Said something about a game, right?"

"Mmm-hmm..." He tried to keep himself awake.

"Kill or get killed, that's what he said?"

Nutty clicked with his tongue, confirming.

"We all got five lives, yeah?"

"Daa," he said, inspecting his nails.

"... And, that means..."

"Mmmm?"

"Holy shit," Splendid cursed, eyes wide in terror. Realizing the situation every Happy Tree Friend member was in.

"I have to do something, quick!" He gasped as he tried to stand up, but tripped on the carpet clumsily and landed on the humid wooden floor.

There was an awkward moment of silence...

"... The hell?" Nutty raised an eyebrow, Splendid murmured incoherently under his breath.

"Sorry, but could you help me out?"

Nutty stood up and offered Splendid a hand, to which he gladly held into; allowing the teenager to pull him back up. His vision started to come back to him and with that he managed to inspect the room better. It was truly as he had suspected, a rundown spacious room filled with holes, cold and humid with absolutely no furniture whatsoever. The stench though, was unbearable; it probably came from the wet carpet he woke up on.

"I have to go and save them!" The hero declared, preparing to march towards the door.

Nutty grabbed into shirt, making him stop; Splendid turned and threw the younger boy a glare.

"It's useless stopping me! It's been settled!"

"I'm not stopping you, moron! I thought I'd come with you."

They looked at each other for a moment until Splendid's scoff broke the silence.

He gently patted him on the head.

"Now now, it's not that I don't want to... but it's too dangerous for a child such as you to follow me on an adventure like this, you might as well stay and wait here for my retu—"

He couldn't finish his sentence as Nutty kicked him on his family jewels, hard. Making the proud hero fall on his knees with a loud screech, holding his lower area with both hands.

"Fuck you then." He simply said as he walked towards the door, Splendid extended his arm.

"W-waait..." his voice was trembling, "I'm sorry... please... don't go... and leave me here..."

Nutty ignored him and opened the door without looking back, it appeared as though they weren't in the camp anymore... but inside the forest. The lime-haired teen furrowed his brows, they really did land somewhere else, didn't they?

He started searching his pockets, touching what appeared to be sugar cubes.

_'Two, four, six, eight... nine... shit, not much left.' _He thought, depressed.

Picking one up and putting it in his mouth, he thought that it would be best to last the taste by letting it melt inside. He needed that sugar, or else he wouldn't have much energy to last on, it was almost like fuel for him.

He noticed a small river on his right and concluded that _Lumpy's _cabin shouldn't be too far off, since he did mention it was beside the lake. He had the chance to explore the forest a bit carefully, being one of the first people to join the camp.

Nutty considered it as an advantage, familiarizing himself with the environment found itself to be quite useful.

He nearly forgot the idiot who was tagging along, though.

"Owww, why did you have to do that?! I was just joking..." he whined, walking with his legs crossed, still in pain. Nutty shook his head slowly in annoyance, "Sure... whatever."

Splendid straightened up and noticed the small river and trees, "Oh? Are we in the forest?"

"Yeah," Nutty confirmed, jumping on the rocks so he could reach the other side. Splendid scratched his chin as he followed his younger companion, curiously looking left to right.

"Where are we going?" The hero asked childishly.

"To Lumpy's," Nutty answered, finally reaching the other side and not bothering to wait for him.

"Lumpy? Why?"

"That should be obvious."

Landing on the other side, Splendid dashed towards the eye-patch boy, throwing a few glances at him as he picked up his rhythm.

"You want to ask him about the 'game'?"

He continued walking without answering his question, looking straight at the path they were taking. It was so dark he had to narrow his eye continuously, the moon did a poor job in lighting their way, and he wished he had a flash light or something as such.

Splendid didn't mind and managed to follow along without much problem, Nutty concluded that he was an air-head, a tall and intimidating air-head. He hated when dealing with tall people, he understood that he was still a growing boy, being only fifteen and all... but really? That Splendid was just too much; he had to be nearly six foot tall and that Flippy? He'd rather not think about it.

His height was considered as average for a girl, like Flaky; for example, or even Petunia, who was only slightly taller; but it didn't make him the slightest bit comfortable.

There was only one tall person he was comfortable with.

And he wanted to see that person so badly.

_'Where are you...' _He thought desperately.

_'Are you doing okay? Did you meet up with somebody? Are you playing yet? Are you waiting for __**me**__?'_

He had so many questions, and he wanted them to be answered by that person. He couldn't help but worry, he couldn't help but-

"OH MY GOD!" Splendid exclaimed, snapping Nutty back to reality. The boy looked at Splendid, completely confused until he finally noticed what it was that made him so shocked.

A body... a _dead _body lying limply on the ground, bloodied and bruised from everywhere. They could see it clearly, even though they were a good few meters away. Both of them ran towards it, hoping it wasn't too late.

Splendid crouched near the man who looked like he was in his mid thirties, holding him by shoulder.

"Mister! Mister please! Are you okay?! Answer!" He pleaded.

Nutty squatted next to him and held his wrists, touching it with both fingers.

"No pulse... he's dead." He sighed. Splendid gasped in shock.

"No, that can't be..."

"Looks like some of them are playing," he searched the area with his eye, "... and looks like the killer isn't far either."

"Damn it!" The blue-haired hero cursed, clenching on the man's shoulder tightly. He never thought something like that would happen, how could they be as stupid as to actually _listen _to a word Lumpy said? There were plenty of other ways to escape this living hell, so why... why?

Nutty stood up, looking at the body better. The man had an orange and messy afro and big wide green eyes, bloodshot. Some ants and a few flies were running all over his body, judging by that (and by the stench) he wasn't freshly killed, no... he died about a few hours ago...

_'Someone... must have woken up before all of us, could it be...'_

He clenched his fists, the deep wound on his abdomen and the gash on his gut... the visible intestines and that terrified expression...

_'There's only one guy capable of doing such a messy job...'_

"Hey, let's get out of here." Nutty said hurriedly while surveying their surroundings, Splendid lifted his eyes up, wondering what was happening to him.

"Wait! Let me burry him first—"

"Fucking no time for that," he cursed as he grabbed him by the arm, "We go... NOW."

The blue-haired hero simply nodded and stood up, throwing one last glance to the poor man who lost his life, surely... he'd be better on the next round.

At least he had four more lives to count on, right?

* * *

Russell looked at Flaky's back with minor curiosity, he had yet to wonder what that weird dandruff-girl was up to, but it didn't matter. She was sure of herself, and it was good; because he needed someone to lead the way, someone to help him out... and then...

Well, it wasn't the time to think about what to do next, and he was thankful he fell on a girl like her, who would straight up go and trust him.

They were walking for a good fifteen minutes now, and he had the feeling that they were getting somewhere. Although it was too dark to see anything clearly, they managed to make their way out the big part and found a path that leaded towards the camp. They were nearly there, as far as she informed him.

True, they heard quite the amount of terrifying noises and cries coming from every direction and assumed (and hoped) they were animals.

Flaky remained surprisingly calm throughout the whole walk and didn't stutter even once when Russell asked her if they were there yet. The voice in her head calmed down as well, which was a relief; considering it never shut up.

She stopped the moment she noticed the small cabins bungalows at the distance as well as the canteen and tree houses. A triumphant smile illuminated her face as she turned to face Russell joyfully, "We're here!"

The turquoise-haired boy grinned, eyes widening "Really?!"

Flaky nodded and held him by the wrist where she dragged him along towards it, running at full speed, they didn't know why they were happy at all, since the 'force field' (or whatever it is) still circled the whole camp, trapping them like rats; but anyhow, it was still a joyful moment to them.

Upon running down the hill, they saw an unknown, tall and slender... slightly muscular figure standing in the distance. Flaky stopped running suddenly and started walking slowly, letting go of Russell's wrists. That person looked familiar...

As they got closer and closer, the figure became clearer and they finally saw who it was...

With only the moon to illuminate his face and body, Flippy looked straight at their direction, eyes wide and striking.

Flaky smiled widely, "Flippy..." she whispered in relief.

_'He's okay! He's doing good!'_

The red-haired dandruff girl was about to run towards him and hug him tightly into an embrace until he pulled out of his jacket what appeared to be a revolver, shocking her and making her stop briskly.

"Don't move." He ordered, pointing the weapon at them. Russell furrowed his brows, stopping as well.

Flaky's happy expression changed dramatically, slowly; she whispered, "F-Flippy...?" She called, her voice starting to tremble as her stuttering came back, "Wh-what a-a-are you d-doing?" She said, barely audible for him to hear.

He didn't bulge, nor did he lower his weapon; he was looking at her, _glaring _at her, it wasn't the same Flippy she knew back at the camp.

_'Stick close to me...' _was what he told her, he said everything was going to be okay... yet...?!

"It's m-m-m-me... Flaky! Please, l-lower that g-gun..."

Same effect, same stare; not even blinking.

Her eyes became watery, she felt like she was about to collapse.

The voice in her head returned as she tried to shake away the terrifying thought that...

Flippy was playing...

**TBC.**

**OH CLIFFHANGERRR! Haha! You guys are going to hate me, huh? It's fine, I like to leave things that way. But hey! Tsnot' like I won't update or whatever.**

**Yeah, the chapters WILL get darker, and I'm glad I didn't do anything explicit, because I don't want to shock you just yet, you guessed it! Disco bear was the first victim, and yup... started up with the Forest because this is where the main characters are, I'll try and write a sneak-peak at where the others are at on the next chapter.**

**Feel free to review, show me your love and affection and tell me how amazing of a writer I am for an ego-boost, *opens arms for a hug* yes, give me looove!**

**... Just kidding, sorry for being creepy!**  
**No ending theme for this chapter because it ain't that important, meh.**

**Seeya!**


	6. Chapter Five: Let The Rain absorb our Fe

***opens arms widely* COME OVER HERE! GIMME YOUR LOVE 3  
I'm so happy with the way things are progressing, and you guys make me even happier! Keep on with the reviews; it just helps me out even more!  
Now that I'm on summer vacation, I can gladly say that writing chapters won't take as long as it used to.**

**Just enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Five: "Let the rain absorb our fears."**

* * *

"Don't move." He ordered, aiming the gun straight at them without hesitation. His eyes were piercing and he had a somewhat threatening aura around him. Flaky trembled everywhere, not understanding what happened to the young man she respected so much.

_'__**SeE? I tOld YoU hE's PlAyiNg... yOu caNnOt trust aNYonE!' **_The voice hissed in the back of her head, telling her all sorts of things she wished not to hear.

Clenching her fists, Flaky gulped; gathering all of her courage. He was probably confused, or irritated; he didn't know what he was doing. If she could just persuade him to lower that gun... he would surely listen to reason.

_'No... not him, not Flippy.'_

She didn't bulge, and so did he.

He was _threatening _her, as absurd as it might have sounded. The gentle and kind Flippy she met on her way to the camp was threatening her with his revolver, ready to strike, ready to take her life.

Her big dark frightened eyes looked at him, sending him silent messages. She was sure he could read her, he seemed to understand what was on her mind, and he wasn't dumb. Surely, he understood that she meant no harm, and that she wasn't playing. To prove him so, she slowly lifted her arms up, in an attempt to make him lower his guard.

Flippy raised an eyebrow, looking at her questioningly. His mouth slowly opened, like he was about to say something; but quickly shut it. His eyes widened and his brows furrowed in anger.

"Flippy, I... I... I'm not—" She tried to say, not daring to look at him straight in the eyes.

The red-headed dandruff girl gulped, she needed to be brave.

_'I can do this... come on, be brave...'_

One step, one single step. She took just a step towards him as she slowly crouched to put her sickle on the ground while trying to not look at him, afraid that he was still eying her dangerously.

Russell stood still, looking at both Flaky and Flippy safely from behind, if he moved... then he was a goner, and it would be bad, considering they barely started the so called 'game'.

_'It's... the guy from before! Shit, I better not mess this up, or else I'll...'_

"Flippy..." she stood up, "I... I-I'm not pl-playing, s-s-s-see? Th-th-there's n-no need for y-you to w-w-worry..." A small yet scared smile illuminated her face, trying to seem as friendly as possible. Seeing how quiet the green-haired war-vet was, Flaky decided to continue.

She took another step, her hands up. Flippy gritted his teeth.

"Pl-please Flippy, I'm... _We're _n-not playing!" She took another bold step.

He was getting angry, "I'll shoot..." he warned.

"There's no n-need for y-you to sh-shoot! Don't...please..." she took another close step, her eyes getting watery.

"...Please..." She repeated slowly, looking at him straight in the eyes this time. Hoping that he understood that she meant no harm, that there was no need to play.

...Sadly, it wasn't the case. All of her hopes crushed on the ground the moment he pulled the trigger.

* * *

The loud sound of a gunshot pierced the air, echoing displeasingly in the forest, making the two young men halt in alarm.

"Did you hear that?!" Splendid spoke in a hushed tone, panic written all over his face. Nutty furrowed his brows, looking at the direction the sound came from.

"That came from the camp..." he murmured in surprise, he didn't expect some of them to already get there, or even to start their manhunt so soon. "They're already well armed as well." He sighed as he continued walking.

"Well shit then," the blue-haired hero cursed, "What now?"

"We just continue our way," he half-shrugged, ignoring Splendid's whines.

"You're _really _going to Lumpy's cabin aren't you? Even though we both don't know if he'll still be there after all of this." He muttered in annoyance, trying to fight the fatigue that invaded him suddenly due to all of that walking. Nutty attempted to hold himself from rolling his eyes; he had no idea why he was going there, hadn't he?

"I actually don't want to bump into him, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh..." Splendid sighed, looking at the ground, "What are we going there for, then?"

"Check out for weapons."

"Whoa?! You think there might actually be some in there?"

"Maybe..." he half-shrugged.

Splendid simply stared at his younger-friend as they slowly fell into a comfortable silence, with only the sounds of them stepping on the humid grass. The blue-haired hero often wondered what his real name was, he wanted to ask him; but refrained from doing so. It was in those kinds of situations that they ought to sympathize with each other like real teammates, and calling him 'Nutty' seemed quite offensive to him. Sure, they named him 'Splendid' for a reason, and he knew why, but why did they have to call this young boy 'Nutty'? In the brochure, they said that they'd name them like scouts and pick one that'll suit their personalities and physical appearance, and so far he appreciated his new name very well.

But, Nutty...? He was just full of mysteries, quite the odd fellow, but definitely trustworthy. The hero always believed in his senses, and his gut told him that he could follow Nutty without worrying about anything at all. Although he was rude, mean and cocky; deep inside he was a genuinely kind person. He simply knew it.

That gunshot worried him though, someone was playing, hell; perhaps _everyone _was playing except them, everything was possible. Yet he didn't want to believe it, he was sure that some still had their right minds. People like Flaky wouldn't play for sure, and he knew it, even Nutty's roommate, Toothy looked really kind, that Russell guy too... or even Petunia, Giggles and Cuddles, and-

To the blue-haired hero, everyone looked innocent.

"Say..." Splendid spoke as he continued walking alongside Nutty.

"Hm?"

"Who do you think... shot that?"

There was a silent moment, and Splendid was starting to tense up. That wasn't a smart thing to ask, but he wanted to know what Nutty had in mind, what he was feeling. As immature as it sounded, he actually needed the comfort of someone else's point of view, regardless of the age.

The clouds gathered and announced the arrival of a storm, it was nearly dawn and they were both extremely tired.

A few raindrops fell on the ground, making simplistic and pleasant sounds. The wind whispered between the trees leaves', bringing a few barely audible voices coming from the east.

"The real question is... who _died._" Nutty finally answered, looking up to feel the rain pour gently on his pale skin. "On second thought, I doubt it..." he snorted.

"Huh?" The blue-haired hero scratched his cheek in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Never mind, we're here." He grinned, pointing at the small wooden cabin near the large lake, in an instant, the rain poured faster and intensified to an extent where it was practically impossible to hear each other's voices.

* * *

_'This... is the end.' _Flaky thought as she heard the loud sound of a gunshot. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip hard.

But instead of feeling an atrocious pain, she heard a loud yell coming from behind her, making her turn in surprise. Flippy lowered his gun, throwing a death glare at his victim.

"FUCKING HELL! PIECE OF SHIT SHOT MY LEG! MY FUCKING LEG!" The man practically cried as he rolled on the ground while grabbing his injured leg. Russell blinked in surprise as he turned to look at the anonymous man, showing the same slack-jawed expression as Flaky.

_'Damn, I thought... I thought __**I **__was shot.' _He sighed in relief.

They were too shocked they barely even saw Flippy walking towards the injured man, his expression dark and fearful.

He squatted near him, his revolver still at hand.

"I _warned _you, you darned fool." He hissed as he grabbed him by the collar, "Now just what were you thinking, sneaking up on her like that?"

After looking closely, Flaky realized it wasn't a _man, _but a young boy who looked like he was slightly younger than her, about 17 or 18; his hair was of a dark green and he had dark circles under his eyes, with teeth as sharp as a shark's. He didn't look much taller than she, and was wearing a black and dark green long striped shirt with dark jeans and shoes.

It was also after approaching them that she noticed the rusted steel pipe next to him.

"You bastard... why didn't you finish me?" he growled while trying to hold back the pain. Flippy rolled his eyes in annoyance and shook him good, "Answer my question." He spoke firmly. The boy looked at him straight in the eyes for a moment until a devilish smirk crept on his face.

"Well well, whaddya' think I was gonna' do, huh? Have a friendly chat with her? Drink em' tea?" he spat sarcastically, Flippy did not find it amusing.

He looked for a moment at the steel pipe on the ground, analyzing the weapon carefully before throwing him a glare. He knew that his intentions weren't simply to _kill _her, no. Rather, he was more curious to see where she would lead him at, and surprisingly enough; he wasn't with his brother this time.

In a swift movement, Flippy lifted him and carried him on his shoulder.

"H-HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT ME DOWN!" he cried as he threw punches, trying to aim at Flippy's face but failed miserably due to the dizziness his injury caused him.

"You shouldn't have tried to run away when I clearly spotted you, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten yourself injured." He spoke calmly, ignoring the wild teenager wiggling on his shoulder.

"Fucking monster," Shifty muttered, "Just wait and see till my bro' comes! He'll make your day!"

Flippy ignored him completely

He slowly walked towards Flaky, looking at her with his gentle green gaze. A small and warm smile illuminated his face as he got closer to her.

Resting her hand on her heart, Flaky barely managed to breathe. She was still alive and well, Flippy didn't harm her, nor did he kill that boy.

Perhaps... maybe, just maybe he wasn't actually playing?

_'__**hMpH! DoN't ReLy oN thAt, hE'lL dEfiNitEly bAckStAb yOu wHeN YoU aReN't LoOkiNg...'**_

As he finally got close enough to pat her on the head, Flippy spoke;

"You okay? Sorry it took me so long to catch up." He chuckled; he said those words so naturally it made her heart ache like mad.

Ignoring the rain and the boy he carried on his shoulder, Flaky smiled shyly and gave him a small hug on the side.

"I was so... scared, I thought you were aiming y-your gun at _me." _Flippy could feel her body trembling. His eyes widened in honest stupefaction. She did appear to be saying something when he was warning Shifty, but couldn't quite understand due to her speaking so quietly.

"Really?"

"Y-yeah... I was afraid that you were..."

"...Playing?" He finished at her stead.

She nodded hesitantly, still confused on how the situation changed in such a sudden matter. He smiled and removed a wet strand of hair that blocked the view he had from her beautiful dark orbs and put it behind her ear. He wanted to memorize her face, just once more; afraid that he wouldn't see her again for long, just like a few moments ago...

He felt bad... bad because he was just one filthy liar.

"Forgive me..." He whispered, gazing at her eyes as if they were the most beautiful thing in the entire world. His smile faded and his look became darker as he cupped her cheek gently, she looked so peaceful under his stare, as if she felt at ease.

It made him want to laugh.

_'Who would ever feel at ease in front of a monster like me?' _He thought bitterly, mentally snorting at himself for his silly thoughts.

Seeing how the red-head next to him tilted her head curiously, Flippy grinned and waved his hand meaning for her to forget what he just said; he then turned to throw a look at the turquoise hair-coloured boy who simply stood there, puzzled.

Flaky turned and noticed Russell, who appeared to be rather surprised at the change of situation.

"Oh, uh... wait for a m-moment okay?" She smiled at Flippy then dashed towards him.

For once, she thought things were going to get better for both of them. It seemed as though luck bought her back with Flippy, and it was a good sign, now she didn't have to worry about the likes of him.

Her happy-paced steps were heard from miles away on the humid muddy ground while her hair, which was as wet as ever; moved along with the wind and swung left to right according to the movement of her hips, Flippy couldn't help himself but chuckle at the sight of that clumsy red-head who just couldn't contain her excitement. Really, was she that happy to see him?

_'Oh the irony...' _He thought bitterly while smirking to himself, _'People run with their tails between their legs whenever I come around, and there she goes and gets all cheery knowing I'm here to protect her.'_

He honestly did not dislike that feeling, in fact; he _loved _it. He loved it when she relied on him, when she depended on him; it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was a shame no one saw her like he did, a shame that he was the only one who knew her charms and her value, he could see right through her. An easy-to-read girl, like he thought himself, but quite interesting to look at all day long.

She had her own and unique beauty, beyond that mask of innocence; she was a goddess to him. From that flaming dark crimson hair of hers, to those dark innocent eyes and those pouty lips, she was the ideal partner. He swore to make her his, she belonged to him the moment he laid his eyes on her, she was his property, his little _bloody _angel.

How he loved that color.

His eyes did not leave her form, making him want to admire her a bit more carefully. She had a decent body, which was a good thing. Game-wise, it was important to be physically capable. Although she was frail and fragile mentally, she had skilled arms and hands with refined long fingers, ready to do whatever they were told to do.

The game started four hours ago, at midnight. It was nearly dawn and he had a plan to carry on. It was a good thing that the members entered that 'phase' early enough for them to sleep till midnight, allowing the game to start at the exact time; it was also good that Lumpy threw the right weapons on this round.

_Everything was going smoothly_, he smiled. Yes, everything _was _going smoothly, until...

She tagged along with that piece of _trash._

Before realizing it, Flippy threw a deadly glare at the turquoise hair-coloured boy who was standing near his Flaky, the same bastard who dared to get on his way that other time. He never thought someone aside from him would be capable of escaping the 'phase'; he was so sure he was the only one, yet that asshole...

He could see through Russell, through those brown eyes... he could see the wicked hypocrite on the other side.

Their paths crossed at exactly Half Past Midnight, when everyone was still under the 'phase'. He had a butcher knife and he concluded that he still had it, even now; near his beloved goddess. Except it was hidden, kept safely tied using his belt, under his striped shirt...

The fucker _butchered _his victim while he was still under the 'phase', not bothering to wait, his stare was blank and he had the sickest expression ever. And like it wasn't enough, he intended to murder Flaky as well, after she helped him find the camp.

_'Don't you dare think I didn't see through your schemes, if you touch my precious Flaky, then I swear next time I'll see you I'll skin you completely and burn you alive.'_

Feeling, his terrifying glare, Russell avoided eye-contact with Flippy. Remembering their disturbing first-meeting at the forest, three hours and a half ago.

"I... I see that you two know each other quite well," he gulped silently; Flaky tilted her head and threw him a curious look.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. But don't worry! He's really kind and genero—"

"I have to go." He announced suddenly while turning around, ready to leave. He could feel the war vet's deadly glare behind him and it wasn't pleasant, no... Definitely not pleasant.

The red-head grabbed him by the hand in an instant, confusion written all over her face.

"W-what?! Why?! Where are you planning to go?"

"I'm sorry Flaky but I can't go with you," he hurriedly pushed her away and began walking straight back towards the forest, hoping it would be safe enough for him to wait until their departure.

Standing there in shock, Flaky stared, completely wide-eyed. She turned to look at Flippy, who was facing the other way without a clue of the situation, with Shifty still muttering curses under his breath. She bit her lip and ran towards Russell, grabbed him by the arm and pleaded him to come back. The turquoise hair-coloured boy lost his patience and grabbed her hand with his deadly grip, removed it then pushed her so hard she fell on the ground.

"Ru-Russell... Why, what's the meaning of this?" She whispered, barely audible for him to hear. He stared for a moment at her dark orbs; he regretted his violent act but had no choice.

"I'm sorry... I just can't tag along, not when this guy's here with us." He turned; ready to march back, "I'll be on my way now, take care."

And so he ran, ran so fast Flaky barely had the time to stop him. She sighed quietly while standing up, removing the dust on her pants and wondering what freaked him out so much.

She threw a worried glance at Flippy, who appeared to be struggling with Shifty's violent nature, she sighed in relief.

_'It's a good thing he didn't see that,' _she thought as she walked towards the war vet and his hostage, he turned and gave her one of his gentle smiles.

"So...? Where did he go?" The green-haired war-vet asked curiously, Flaky slowly shook her head while looking at the muddy ground, allowing the rain to pour on her delicate features.

"He... didn't want t-to come with us," she spoke softly, but didn't dare to say it was because of Flippy's presence. The war vet chuckled amusingly at that response, knowing full-well why that braided bastard ran away.

"Hmm, I expected that." He smirked to himself, Flaky blinked twice.

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing," he smiled, "Just make sure you don't cross paths with him again, he's... not that _good." _He recalled the dirty expression he had when he killed Disco, a filthy grin on his face and him being bloodied all over. The mess he did, was _disgusting, _he couldn't stand it when people did such poor jobs in the art of murder, it made him want to hurl everywhere.

'_How sickening' _

Flaky stared momentarily at him with her worried dark orbs, having trouble keeping up with what he was trying to get at. It was hard to believe that Russell was in fact; a bad person, considering he did no move whatsoever to hurt her in any way, and if he did in fact try to do such a thing, then she would have known it by now, and suffered by the circumstances.

But that man looked harmless, he did show a suspicious side every now and then but had the ability to brush it off with his smiles, and followed along without saying anything unnecessary. She found his presence to be enjoyable and quite calm, though it only lasted for barely an hour.

Her lips parted slightly to speak, in an attempt to ask him where they should be heading now. The boy he carried on his shoulder appeared to have quieted down, or fainted; either of the two, seeing how silent he was. She figured he gave up on struggling, knowing Flippy and his gigantic height and gorgeous body.

The tall yet slender war vet smirked in the most seductive matter, making her blush intensely as she averted her eyes from his gentle ones. He had a mysterious bittersweet personality that got her even more curious to who he truly was. He appeared gentle, yet had a somewhat dark aura coming out of him, he loved to tease and loved to please; what's more, he knew _exactly _what was going on her mind, like an open book. That, she figured; was a dangerous sixth sense amongst the many other senses he had in plus.

Her blush intensified when she realized he hadn't stopped looking at her, and it made her wander what was so interesting about a normal girl like her. She was the casual plain Jane with nothing unusual aside from her messy and spiky red hair which was filled with dandruffs. She thought he perhaps found her to be abnormal or weird; it was the only possibility she could think of, when he looked at her like that.

Flaky scratched her neck in anxiousness as she glanced at the green-haired war vet before her, asking it the quietest voice; "Wh-what are we supposed t-to do now?"

He threw her the most simplistic smile, and yet it somehow made her heart beat twice as fast. "Now you just have to follow my lead without worry." He spoke as he walked onwards with proud confidence. Flaky twirled a strand of her red hair nervously with her index finger, _'It's weird, I'm not supposed to trust him like that... yet he gives off this... very comfortable feeling...' _She closed her eyes to breathe in some fresh air, narrowing them slightly when the faint smell of blood invaded her nostrils.

_'Comfortable... yet dangerous. I feel like I shouldn't let my guard down...'_

But when he stopped to walk so he could turn to look at her, smile at her; those thoughts melted the instant like butter resting under the summer sun. She smiled back and squeezed her shirt tightly; close to her heart and feeling it beat at an unbelievable speed. Her smile transformed into a grin as she jogged towards him to catch up.

That man was a mystery, and mysteries were meant to be solved. Perhaps our little red-headed Sherlock would figure him out someday?

* * *

_'A pathetic fool...'_ was what Nutty continuously thought as he threw dangerous glares towards the blue-haired hero and his ridiculous acts. They were already inside Lumpy's cabin yet found nothing interesting aside from ruthless paperwork and documents containing a few information about the camp's previous members as well as pointless camping rules good only for pre-teen scouts. And like it wasn't enough, Splendid just couldn't help himself but laugh at the hideous pictures on the documents, making the young teen face-palm more than he should. He spent the entire twenty-five minutes at the cabin attempting to shush him, seeing how he was not attempting to behave.

The cabin, he noticed; wasn't as shabby as he thought it to be. It was in fact, extremely neat and tidy. He concluded that Lumpy didn't appreciate making a mess in his very own private space, which was a relief; since the lime-haired boy didn't want to search too much for things. However, it could also be due to him being too lazy to move his stuff or touch the paperwork, seeing how most his assignments dated from four years ago.

There was a single, large desk in the middle of the dark room; filled with those documents and other pointless papers with very few information about the camp itself. Most of them were about the members' and the countless rules they had to follow. Those sorts of papers made Nutty roll his eyes in a dramatic motion and sigh in frustration, he hated those things and he hated to follow any type of rule whatsoever. Rebellious hormones caused him to be thick-headed, and he didn't particularly hate that.

Splendid did a poor job in looking out for things, snooping around wasn't the hero's most fascinating ability. Aside from staring into those hideous acne-filled teenagers, he sometimes stared into space and looked like he was thinking deeply about something. And it only happened when he gazed into certain pictures.

_'What a simple guy,' _he snorted, it wasn't too hard for him to figure him out. Besides, when you act like such an idiotic individual, it's only natural that the people around you would be able to see through your feelings. And judging by his attitude, he was most likely attempting to forget something.

"Hey," the lime-haired teen called, making the hero snap back to reality.

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favour and keep searching before I shoved that picture up your ass." He hissed diabolically, making the hero cringe. Putting up with his rude comments was extremely painful. He was used to be next to a friendly and polite environment and set of people who all understood his ideology. As a boy who dropped out of high school to work for his family, Splendid barely had the time to live on his youth and unexpectedly matured before age, causing him to be unstable most of the time.

Quite a shame, so he thought. But nonetheless, it didn't matter that much. The summer camp seemed like a plan for him to try and attempt to bring back his youth which was forcefully taken away by those terrifying and unwanted circumstances, adding to it his childhood dream to be a hero.

Nobody helped them back when he was a child, no one... he was so desperate for help, yet not a single kind soul offered for a hand.

When _that day _finally came, he had enough. He vowed to help whoever, whenever. He vowed to be _everyone's _hero.

Splendid glanced at the window.

It stopped raining a few minutes ago, and the sun was rising beautifully; illuminating the sky with its warm colors, announcing the start of the day. The sight caused him to smile.

_'Well, this is a sudden change of situation, and here __I thought this summer camp was supposed to be a good breather... you caught yourself in a pitiful situation, Splendid.' _

Sighing quietly, the hero arranged the documents then put them down neatly on the desk. He ought to search with the teen a bit seriously now, when he revealed that stumbling upon Lumpy wasn't his plan, Splendid concluded that they truly weren't meant to be in here in the first place. It didn't appear to be that... dangerous, no; in fact, it was just a harmless cabin without a single tool, even less a weapon around, just filled with papers, pencils and other boring stuff he dismissed on his search.

"You know," the hero spoke as he squatted to look under the desk, "I don't think there's anything worth to search for in here..." He gnawed the inside of his jaw as he stood up, "Maybe we should look for weapons somewhere else."

Nutty threw him a silent look, he was touching the wooden floor carefully now; walking on four legs and inspecting it very carefully. He pressed his index finger there and there, listening at the creaking sounds then punched them harder to hear a bit better. The hero tilted his head in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

The younger boy kept on his strange acts and continued poking toughly on the wooden floor, then punched it as he tried to analyze the sounds. He pursed his lips and carried on, as if he was sure of something. Splendid merely shrugged and decided to inspect the rest of the room. Just as he was about to turn to mind his own business did Nutty let out a victorious "Bingo!' escape his mouth.

The hero squatted next to the teen with great interest, "what?! What did you find?!"

The candy-lover grinned as he pulled the wooden plank hard, revealing what appeared to be a grenade. Splendid's eyes widened in shock.

"Holy..." was all the hero could mutter at the sight of more grenades after Nutty continued to pull the planks. This was genius of him to find out such amazing explosives in that small amount of time they had to search.

"Are those real?" He asked, completely stupefied. Nutty rolled his eyes as he took one of them, throwing it vertically and catching it; a smirk illuminating his face. "What do you think, huh? Would we be going through so much trouble just to find some toys?"

"I... guess not." He twirled his thumbs, looking at their new-found treasure with worried eyes. He did not expect to find grenades in the cabin, perhaps a few survival knives or maybe some hunting firearms. But... grenades?

He had a feeling that letting Nutty carry them all by himself wasn't a good thing, especially when he noticed his wicked smile the moment he found them.

Before Splendid could protest, Nutty removed his long baggy sweatshirt and took a grenade belt for him to wear. Splendid blinked, this time he had no idea what that silly teen was about to do.

"Hey... shouldn't you be wearing that on the shirt and not under?" He scratched his chin as he spoke. Nutty snorted.

"What would you do if you saw a guy carrying grenades openly like that, knowing you're in a deadly game?" He asked with a sarcastic tone as he put the many grenades on his belt, Splendid looked at the ground.

"I... guess you're right, maybe you should hide them... but I doubt they wouldn't notice, it's quite thick."

Nutty smiled as he wore his long baggy sweatshirt back on, in a simple motion with his hands; he showed the hero that none of it was seen.

"Good thing most of my clothes are baggy, otherwise it would've been a problem."

Splendid grinned and did a thumbs up, "Nice! But what about me?" he pouted as he glanced at his blue tracksuit, "I can't possibly hide them..."

"We'll figure something out... now we just have to look again for some more interesting stuff, we can't miss anything out." He put back the wooden planks at their place to let it seem less suspicious and stood up, ready to continue the search. Splendid stood up as well, then heard footsteps coming towards them-

Alarmed, he gasped and grabbed Nutty by the waist, carrying him like a toy.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU—mph!" He couldn't let him finish as he blocked his mouth with the palm of his hand and entered the closet. Shushing him with his index finger. Nutty lifted an eyebrow in confusion until he heard the door open. Revealing two men with bright blue hair.

"I didn't spare you the 'phase' just so you could chicken out on me, Russell." The older man spoke angrily, letting an annoyed sigh escape his lips. Russell clenched his fists and sighed as well.

"I know... but that guy _saw _me, what was I supposed to do? Besides, didn't you say I was the only one who didn't go through that 'phase'?"

_'Phase...What phase? What are they talking about?' _Splendid thought questioningly.

"Seems like I was wrong," Lumpy shrugged as he shook his head, looking bored from all of the pointless talk. "Chill out, it's not like you'll lose or anything, I already promised you you'd win."

Both Splendid and Nutty furrowed their brows at that sudden revelation.

Russell looked away and started walking in circles, "Yeah, but I can't help but feel uneasy. He freaked me out, you know? I thought no one would've witnessed me when I killed that weird afro-guy, but there he was... staring with those creepy eyes of his."

"Just a small coincidence, perhaps it was just a mistake coming from my part, who knows? I'll try to do better next time when I'll put them under that 'phase'."

"You don't get it..." he clenched his fists, "I had a very bad feeling back there."

"Oh?" Lumpy tilted his head as he smiled.

"A feeling of _déjà-vu._" He breathed, "I swear I saw those eyes somewhere! But, I can't quite put my finger on it..."

Then it struck him, the words Flaky spoke.

_"Did y-you see... a man with golden eyes?"_

"... Oh shit." He cursed in realization, "Don't tell me he's—"

"Now now don't be ridiculous," Lumpy patted him on the back, "Whatever's going on inside that little head of yours, shouldn't be considered as important or whatever ~ Just carry on with the plan and everything will be alright." He reassured him, grinning with all his might. Russell didn't find it all that comforting though.

"The plan, huh?" The turquoise braided boy scratched his head as he muttered, "I still don't get what you're trying to do."

Lumpy sat down on a nearby chair, "I think I've been clear on that. I want you to be relatable and trustworthy to those idiots' eyes, since you didn't go through that 'phase' like them, I figured throwing one or two lies would be good enough for those spunky participants to actually go ahead and believe you." He took a pen and started scribbling on his desk, "Tell them you saw the same things and they'd think that what they went through is normal."

"But I'm very curious, Lumpy..." he sat down as well, "What exactly is that phase?"

"Oh that," he waved his hand dismissively, "It's just what it is... a phase. To make it more understandable for you; it's a temporary stage where the participants are in a coma-like state, which gives us just about enough time to prepare the next round."

"I see..." he nodded, "But it didn't stop me from having those weird visions."

"It'll pass, believe me." Lumpy grinned, "Besides, we have another dangerous matter to worry about." He grinned as he looked directly into the closet, as if he spotted the two in the instant. Splendid gulped, feeling a sudden chill.

_'Oh no... don't tell me he saw us? That's impossible!'_

Russell narrowed his eyes quizzically and followed Lumpy's eyes. Was there something inside that closet?

"We have unwanted visitors," he hissed and stood up, making Russell, Nutty and Splendid gasp. The tall light blue-haired man approached the wooden closet slowly, his footsteps being loud and menacing. Nutty cursed under his breath and threw a worried glance at Splendid.

"I hope you know how to dodge, Nutty." Splendid whispered as he readied himself, Nutty took from his pocket a sugar cube and put it in his mouth.

"Whenever you're ready." He replied.

"On my signal..." he analyzed Lumpy's movements carefully.

"Three—" he whispered as Lumpy stepped closer.

"Two—" And another step...

"One—" he was about to open...

"NOW!" He yelled as he tackled him, pinning him on the ground, allowing Nutty to dash towards the door. Russell cursed and stood up so fast the candy-lover barely even saw him pop out of nowhere near his face.

The turquoise-haired boy took from his back what appeared to be a butcher knife and dangerously swung it left to right, aiming for Nutty's throat. Surprised by the youngster's dodging skills, Russell grabbed the chair with his free hand and threw it towards the lime-haired boy, who dodged it with great ease as he rolled on the other side.

_'What the hell's with that kid?!' _He thought in amazement and threw the other chair, which he appeared to have dodged without much problem as well. Lumpy and Splendid were having a heated struggle on the other hand. The older man wondered where the hero gathered so much strength as he tried his best to escape from his deadly grip.

"You're not going anywhere!" Splendid said confidently, Lumpy smirked in an evil way.

"Is that so?" was what he said when he kicked him using his knee on his bottom area, making the hero fall. His family jewels received quite some unwanted abuse today, and he wondered if he'd ever manage to have children because of that.

Breaking free, Lumpy cursed lightly and turned to see Russell, who didn't finish his job in killing the young teen. He was about to go and help the turquoise-haired boy to get rid of him until Splendid wrapped his arm around his neck, ready to choke him.

"I'm your opponent!" He declared with pride.

Russell kept swaying his butcher knife towards Nutty, still surprised how well he dodged it; it was almost as if he predicted his every move. Besides, wasn't he already tired?!

He bit his lip and prepared to give the teen a fatal blow until this little one dodged again with ease, making Russell chop the desk in two. Nutty jumped and decided to fight back by kicking him on the face. To his great surprise, said hit didn't do much damage. With a swift movement, Russell grabbed his foot and pinned it on the ground, making Nutty gasp as he hit the wooden floor hard.

"Heh, not so tough now; aren't you?" He spoke as he licked the blood on the corner of his lip, "I wonder what expression you'll have on when I'll maim that leg of yours?" he lifted his butcher knife, ready to cut Nutty's leg. Too bad the younger teen was a stubborn one.

"Not in my watch, fucker!" He took a random pen on the ground and stabbed the braided boy's hand, making him yell and let him off. Nutty stood up quickly and ran towards the door.

"Come on! Let's get outta' here!" He called out; Splendid nodded and pushed Lumpy aside, making him fall on the many scattered papers.

They ran and ran until they were both too tired to continue. As soon as they figured they were far enough from that cabin, both of them stopped to rest and catch on their breaths.

"Shit..." Nutty exclaimed, breathless; "That was... that was so damn close!" He turned to see Splendid, who was nowhere to be found. His eyes widened in alarm.

"Splendid? Splendid!" he called out and heard a small whimper.

"... Splendid...?" He called again as he walked slowly towards that pained voice, and spotted the collapsed hero behind a tree; grabbing his bottom area.

"My poor babies... it's... too much... I think I'm gonna'... die..."

Nutty face-palmed as he fell on his knees, letting a small chuckle escape his lips.

"You fucking moron!" He started to laugh, wondering how that life &amp; death situation managed to turn out into such a ridiculous scene.

**TBC.**

**Aha! Sorry for the slightly late update, since we're in summer vacation, I came back into my old gaming habits so I barely had the time to think about writing again. But it's fine! I'll try and do a better job on the next chapter! Also, I know I promised more characters on this one... but it didn't seem to fit, heh, sorry?**  
**There'll be more Flippy and Flaky on the next chapter as well, hopefully some more explaining about the situation as well! And I know you guys are like "Wow? No epic Fliqpy appearance?" yup, well that'll be explained too! Very soon.**

**Review please! I need support for the next chapter! Make sure to tell me what's on your minds!**  
**Ciao ciao, my lovelies!**


	7. Chapter Six: That man is a liar

**Late, I know... I'm sorry. BUT no worries, this will be an extra long chapter. I don't want you guys to feel desperate for more! It's getting a tad bit gory but meh, you guys will survive this, right? Plus I originally intended to update a week ago, guess my internet wasn't following up with that plan... Sheeesh.  
Writer's block is a pain as well, can't seem to know what words to use lately...**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Six: "That man is a liar."  
**

* * *

Flaky blinked in confusion, looking at Shifty as if he was the weirdest creature on earth. The boy kept wriggling and shouting like some kind of a wild animal, eyes tightly shut. Flippy did, however, not bat an eye.

"LEMME' GOOOO!" He yelled, trying desperately to break free. The green-haired teen was tied to a wooden pillar inside the canteen, much to Flaky's horror. It was after all, the centre of the camp and possibly the worst hiding spot one could think of. Despite that, she decided to go along and follow Flippy, as he was the only one she was capable of trusting.

The war vet was sitting on the floor, not so far from his companion and hostage. He wanted to catch both the twins and give them a piece of his mind. Well... actually no, he wanted to make them suffer slowly, make them tell him every little piece of information about the camp and... Other things. He was no idiot; he knew that they were aware of Lumpy's plans, those sneaky bastards had the gift to roam around unnoticed. And it was quite possible that they didn't go through that phase as well.

Shifty turned to glare dangerously at Flippy, who remained unfazed. The older man raised an eyebrow, as if amused by the teenager's ruthless attempts to irritate him.

"There's no point in staring at me like that, you're staying there... whether you like it or not." he continued cleaning his ammo with a paper tissue, not bothering to throw him another look. Shifty snorted rather arrogantly.

"You think you're so tough, huh?!" he spat, "That you're, OH! SO STROOONG AND INTIMIDATIIIING!" Shifty started vibrating awkwardly for no apparent reason. The injury on his upper thigh was seriously hurting him, and it was most likely infected; but he honestly didn't care anymore. If he could, he'd bite his tongue and die. He still had four lives anyway, so everything was fine.

Flaky, on the other hand; didn't like where things were going. Shifty was obviously losing it, and Flippy wasn't helping either. Both of them made a lot of noise, and she was afraid somebody might take it as an opening to attack.

"U-Um..." She was trying to reason with dark green-haired teen, but failed miserably as said person continued shouting like a mad man.

"I'LL MURDER YOU! YA HEAR?! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

"Good Luck with that," Flippy chuckled, calmly wiping the bullets without a care in the world. This sort of situation was pretty common in his life, it wasn't the first person he held hostage after all. Most of the men, however; were pretty worse, or rather... not worth the attention for. Instead of badmouthing him, they cried and begged for their lives; for freedom, hoping that he'd have the decency to let them go. Sadly, they had yet to know that the war vet was far from being merciful.

Knowing the two sneaky brothers, it was most likely that Lifty was already aware of his twin's whereabouts; it'll only be a matter of time until he'd have the guts to come. Flippy did leave a few signs on his way, just about enough to give him a hint or two, he was also conscious that Lifty wasn't the smartest of the duo, which only complicated his plans to lure him in. Surprisingly enough, Shifty had faith in his brother; almost as if he was certain that he'll come and find him.

_'We'll wait for another hour, if he's not here... I'll just have to go and hunt him down myself.' _

Flippy glanced at his red-headed companion, making sure that she was doing okay. He noticed how well she sharpened her senses recently, which was moreover a good thing. She needed to learn how to protect herself at some point, knowing how dangerous the game is. Though he was thankful they gave each and one of them five chances in surviving, he still wouldn't be happy to see someone take one of her lives. To him, each of them are precious, and shouldn't be wasted.

Shifty groaned rather loudly, breaking the silence and catching both Flippy and Flaky's attention.

"This sucks... sucks so bad! Why can't you just kill me so we could get this over with?!" He complained, making the war vet roll his eyes and sigh in annoyance.

"I can't afford to that yet, not until your precious brother comes to the rescue."

The teen snorted, "You wish! As if Lifty would fall for such a trap! If he truly will come, then it'll be the end of both of you!"

"I'm having a hard time believing that..." he mused, still preoccupied by the excessive amount of ammo he had in his possession. Shifty couldn't believe that man...

"Just WHAT is it that you want from us?!"

Flippy remained silent, thinking it'd be best to ignore him for now. There was no point in wasting any more saliva for that vermin. All he needed was information, evidence that both the twins and Lumpy were allies. Once that's confirmed, he'd be sure to go along the plan without having to deal with any nuisances.

Shifty gritted his teeth, _'Oh, so now mister thinks he's too good to talk to me huh? Well! Let's see about that...'_He smirked, already figuring out a good plan. Provoking the war vet was particularly hard, seeing how thick-headed he is. But when it involves toying around with the green-haired man's property... it was a whole different story.

"Guess what, you fuck?!" He laughed, his face suddenly becoming a bright shade of red; "Me and my bro found out about your little 'secret'!" He began to say, making Flippy's eyes widen dangerously.

Flaky furrowed her brows, _'What is he talking about?'_

"... What are you saying..." Flippy spoke calmly, trying not to lose his composure.

"Hmm? Oh you know... I'm just talking about that _guy._" He avoided eye contact, looking slightly amused at both of their reactions, Flaky in particulars. The poor girl had yet to know the gigantic amount of things he kept hidden from her.

"F-Flippy, what is h-he talking about?" The red-head tilted her head towards his direction, looking confused.

"You mean he didn't tell you?" Shifty butted in, faking a shocked tone; "Oh boy! And I thought you guys were close... too bad he's such a secretive little a-hole."

"Shut it..." he warned, his voice suddenly becoming deep.

"Why should I?" Shifty pouted, "You mean to say you don't want to tell this lovely lady here what happened to your _previous _partner?"

_'P-Previous partner?'_

"Stop, right now!" This time it was an order.

"You threw him inside of that hell-hole... the poor poor thing... even though he helped you out coouuuntless of tiiimes!"

The war vet suddenly stood up, making his way towards the green-haired teen. Flaky still couldn't believe he had such an expression; it almost seemed as if he was a different person, a different man altogether. Shifty didn't seem to be afraid, in fact; he was enjoying this. Provoking Flippy was probably one hell of an idea, but seeing how much it _affected _him when he said that... and even near _**HIS **_beloved Flaky, made it all the more thrilling...

In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him. Glaring with those fierce green eyes, Flaky stood up as well; worry written all over her face.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" He hissed angrily, practically growling. Shifty smirked.

"Oh... Did you, now...?" the teen teased, "It's not that big of a secret anymore, it'll only be a matter of time before everyone knows... so I figured it wouldn't be so bad to..." He then glanced at the confused Flaky, "Tell her a bit about it—"

He stopped talking when he felt a sharp pain on his upper thigh; in the precise spot where he was shot...

Flippy _stomped _on his injured leg, making the teen scream painfully; his voice echoing in the whole room. Flaky gasped and instantly grabbed the war vet by the arm, eyes widening in both fear and surprise.

"Wh-what are you doing, Flippy!? You're hurting him!"

He didn't seem to listen, instead; he applied more pressure to his foot on the teenager's wound, making the bullet go deeper inside. Shifty held himself from screaming any further and started biting his lip so hard that blood poured out. Then, out of a blue; he started smiling.

"TH-THAT'S IT, YOU FUCK..." He tried to speak, "KEEP BEING A VIOLENT SON OF A BITCH... IT'LL ONLY AGITATE HIM FURTHER!"

Flippy gritted his teeth and stomped on his injury once more, harder this time. Shifty cried in pain, struggling with the older man's violent ways. Flaky shook her head in disbelief; this wasn't the Flippy she knew... this wasn't right at all!

"Flippy, please stop!" She pleaded, still holding him by the arm. Again, the war vet completely ignored her and simply stomped on Shifty's wound continuously; making sure every impact was as strong as the previous. His eyes were fierce, striking and extremely unpleasant to stare at; a murderous glare.

A small pool of blood formed under Shifty's leg due to all the pressure.

Flippy hissed in an unsettling tone, still stomping on the younger boy's injury.

"**You... Shut... Your... MOUTH!" **He roared, possibly breaking one or two bones in the process. Shifty's final cry was so loud it ringed in the red-head's ears, making her tremble in terror. Her eyes widened when she saw Flippy lift his foot for another hit.

In a swift movement, the red-head grabbed the war vet by his shoulders; making him face her. Tears were already starting to pour out of her eyes, leaving wet trails on her cheeks. She mouthed the word 'Stop', trying to look as serious as possible while doing so.

Flippy looked at her, completely speechless. He gasped silently at the sight. She was _crying, _crying because of his idiocy. He allowed himself to lose control, to make her witness such a terrifying scene... How could he be so careless?

The look in his eyes softened in an instant. _'I'm the biggest of idiots...' _he thought, gently wiping her tears away with his thumb.

"I'm sorry I... went overboard..." he whispered, already regretting what he did a minute before. Flaky gave him a pitiful smile, he was lucky the red-head was so forgiving... and so he smiled back.

"I promise I won't resort to this type of violence ever again..." he sighed silently as he tilted his head towards Shifty, who was mentally throwing daggers at him. The dark green-haired teen growled ferociously.

"That SERIOUSLY hurt, asshole!"He hissed, his face twisted in pain. Flippy paid no mind to Shifty's insults, however... he had to be precautious. It shocked him to see how well _informed _the green-haired teen was, compared to the others. Though he knew the twins were on to something, he never believed they'd be that aware of the game's current situation.

_'It's most likely Lumpy's doing...'_ he thought bitterly.

Flippy squatted in front of him and started poking his gunshot wound with the revolver, making the green-haired hostage wince in pain. Flaky crouched next to him, wondering what the unpredictable war vet was about to do.

"Looks pretty ugly..." Flippy muttered, still poking and inspecting the wound. "It'll get infected if we don't do anything soon."

Shifty's eyes widened, "ITS YOUR FUCKING FAULT! YOU DAMNED MON—"

He couldn't have finished his insult due to the humid and dirty cloth Flippy attached painfully on his head, covering the mouth tightly. Without further talk, the war vet grabbed the younger boy's jeans and started removing them to see the injury a bit better. He stopped midway upon hearing the small gasp behind him, and so turned... only but to see Flaky's flushed cheeks.

He blinked for a few moments until he started clearing his throat in embarrassment.

"Sorry, but could you... turn around? Just for a sec."

"Oh! Uh... O-Of course..." She stuttered and turned like she was told.

_'That startled me...'_

Once he was sure Flaky didn't witness any of that, Flippy proceeded in removing Shifty's jeans. Despite the teenager's obvious protests, the war vet kept his composure throughout the process, and tried desperately to hold himself from laughing out loud at the sight of his chibi-printed boxers.

Upon discovering the wound, Flippy examined it carefully; thankful Flaky didn't have to see it. His upper thigh was all bloody and blue, thanks to his rather rough beating a few moments ago. He wouldn't be able to move correctly unless he'd throw away his current life.

The dark green-haired teen's previous provocation was probably a ruse, so he could put him out of his misery. Shifty was no idiot, he knew there was no way he'd continue with that wound for a burden. But he also knew that giving his life to Flippy was no joke either, the war vet was already invincible, blessing him with a complete round would be bad.

_'What's that asshole going to do to me?!'_

Shifty threw him the 'What are you trying to do?!' look. Knowing that, Flippy replied normally.

"I'm pretty sure your brother would want to find you alive... and in good shape." He said as he took out of his belt what appeared to be a survival knife, sharpened and extremely clean. The tip of the blade was pointy and looked hardly used, horrifying the teenager.

He immediately shook his head in panic, _'JUST KILL ME! PLEASE!'_

"Hey now... That'll be a waste, don't you think?" Flippy whispered and grabbed a small bottle of alcohol, pouring some on a clean tissue. "We're going to remove that bullet and disinfect that wound of yours..."

"MMMGHF!" He tried to break free, rocking left to right in pure panic. This, however; only kept annoying the war vet. The wound itself looked pretty messed up right now and didn't appear to be clean enough for him to begin. He had to wipe off the blood first before _digging _inside his thigh. It almost made him regret stomping on it... now the bullet was even deeper inside.

To the dark green-haired teen's horror, a small mischievous grin appeared on the older man's face.

"Don't sweat it; it'll only hurt... _a lot._"

* * *

Now that the sun was up and shining, the forest didn't look all that bad; Splendid thought. Though there were no birds or animals anymore, it still gave off a nice lively aura. The blue-haired hero was a big nature lover, after all. Even if they were in a deadly game with only five lives to count on, their walk in the woods was extremely pleasant.

Yes, it would have been pleasant... If it weren't for him being so damn hungry.

Splendid groaned upon hearing the terrifying sounds emitting from his stomach. He hadn't eaten food since the party, and that was most likely a good twelve hours ago!

"Hey um... Nutty?" The hero called, slowing down a bit. The lime-haired teen simply tilted his head, keeping up the same pace.

"Yea?"

"I'm... kinda' hungry right now."

"Then just go ahead and eat."

"I would but there's nothing I can bite on!" He whined, making Nutty sigh.

"Then hold on for a bit, we're almost there."

"I can't... I'm too hungry..."

"Just try, alright?"

"But—"

"The campsite's not so far ahead, we'll have PLENTY of food to eat. So please please PLEASE just shut up!"

Splendid furrowed his brows, pouting rather obviously. It was those kinds of situations that annoyed him the most, especially when he had to face the wrath of a rebellious teenager such as Nutty.

"... Can we at least take a small break to look for food?" He asked softly.

"No." Was the lime-haired boy's immediate answer.

"We won't take long..." He sang.

"No." _Denied._

"Cmon', don't be a dick..."

"Fuck you."

"I can't walk any further!"

"Damn it, Splendid! First it's your head, then your balls, and now your stomach?! Don't you think your body took us enough time as it is?!" He snapped, stopping to turn and throw a glare at the blue-haired hero; who didn't seem to listen. Nutty gritted his teeth, "Oi... you listening?"

Of course, he wasn't. The hero appeared to be too preoccupied at sniffing the air rather than listening at his comrade's complaints. His head did a 90 degrees turn in a second, mildly surprising the lime-haired teen.

Splendid's eyes widened, lips parting slightly; allowing a few drops of drool to escape his mouth.

"Did you smell that?"

"... What..." He raised an eyebrow, quizzically.

"Food..." he whispered, walking slowly towards the east. When the smell was clearer, the hero ran so fast Nutty barely had the time to comprehend what just happened. But when he did... it took him all his might not to face-palm and simply yell in frustration.

_'I should have just let him die out there!' _He thought as he ran behind the blue-haired man, trying to catch up. Once his mind was set on something, there was no stopping him.

Splendid skilfully jumped over the bushes blocking his path, determined to get where the food was. His keen sense of smell helped him figure out which direction to take, while his stomach roared in impatience, pushing him further.

The run lasted for about a minute before Splendid suddenly halted, a delighted look on his face.

Fish... getting cooked on low fire, alongside some vegetables and a few interesting herbs was what lied in front of him. The sweet aroma tickled the edge of his nose pleasantly, making it twitch. A sudden grin illuminated the hero's face.

"It seems like luck's finally on my side!" He smiled triumphantly, making his way towards the feast.

Nutty, on the other hand; tripped and fell rather loudly, landing on his back. The lime-haired boy cursed under his breath, already displeased with Splendid's behaviour. If there was one thing he hated, it was to wait... wait and tolerate a worthless soul, such as him.

He stood up and removed the dirt from his clothes, looking around him in the process. It didn't take long to spot the blue-haired hero, who was sitting near the fire while _devouring _his meal.

Nutty rolled his eyes as he walked towards him, disapprovingly shaking his head at the sight.

"You're an unbelievable son of a bitch... running away and leaving me like that." He tapped his foot on the grass. Splendid was far too preoccupied with the food in his hands to make proper sense.

"If shwoo Gwooood! Bween wonting fwor thish!"

He was about to kick him violently on his groin a second time until he realized something.

"Hey... This fire... you weren't the one who started it, right?"

The hero stopped chewing, blinking twice.

"Uh... no..."

_'Fucking perfect...' _

He couldn't have finished eating as Nutty suddenly grabbed him by the arm, forcefully making him stand up on his two feet. Despite his ridiculously filled mouth, Splendid tried his best to look as serious as possible.

"Wassa' matter?"

"We have to go!" The candy lover hissed, "Before anyone finds us—"

Too late.

"Hands up." A calm, deep soothing voice interrupted him. Splendid's eyes widened upon noticing the terrifying AK-47 the stranger had in possession. Gulping, both he and Nutty did as they were told without fussing.

"On your knees..." he commanded.

"See? This is what happens when you go ahead and become an idiot." Nutty spoke in a hushed tone, slowly crouching on his knees. Splendid furrowed his brows.

"I can't help it! I was hungry..."

"Shut it!"

"Quiet..." the man spoke, getting their attention. He was a rather tall, lean man with pink purple-ish short hair and black sunglasses. The sweater he was wearing reached his knees and completely hid his mouth; making him look even more suspicious while his pants were far too large to actually fit him correctly, resulting in giving him off the look of a slacker.

The weird part was how calm and composed he looked. Almost as if both of them weren't considered as a threat in his eyes. This raised Nutty's suspicion towards him.

The man approached them both, his head slightly held up high. He had trouble facing them, Nutty noticed. His head was always slightly tilted to the side upon talking to them, almost as if...

_'Oh... I get it now...'_

Then, without warning; he suddenly slipped his hand underneath his sweatshirt; confusing Splendid in the process.

Upon hearing the sound of rustling clothes, the pink-haired man raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Um... what are you doing?" He asked, puzzled. Nutty kept his composure and continued making the weird sound effects.

"I'm touching myself..." he replied bluntly, trying to look as normal as possible. "This situation is making me feel horny."

Splendid's jaw dropped in an instant, completely baffled at what he just heard. Slowly, he tilted his head to look at the lime-haired teen, unsure of what to say or think about that sentence.

The stranger looked even more shocked than the hero himself, "Wh-What...?!" He squeaked, lowering his weapon.

There was a sudden glint in Nutty's eye before he grabbed a grenade under his shirt, _'An opening!' _he thought, victorious.

A smirk appeared on his face the moment he took the safety pin off.

"Just kidding!" He sang as he threw the grenade with all his might.

**TBC.**

**A weird ending for a weird chapter, this wasn't very appealing I know... but I'll do better next time! Hopefully, Nutty and Splendid would be able to reach the campsite without further troubles on the next chapter. I know how much you guys are waiting for an encounter with Flippy! Plus, I'll probably write some certain action involving Shifty and Lifty, because why not?**

**Review, give me more love and affection! I need that much to continue.**


	8. Extra 1

**Hello again, dear readers! How are you all? It's been a while, hasn't it? Forgive me for the late update, I've been... quite busy lately and had to deal with many things at once. I also spent my summer vacation in Germany, so I didn't have the time to write another chapter. Again, I'm truly sorry.**

**But no worries! The actual seventh chapter is already 60% complete! The only problem is that I intend to make it a bit longer than the usual (about 6k words or so...) and I need LOTS of time to do that. Of course, I couldn't just... write without showing signs of life to any of you, right? Therefore, I've decided to come up with a little something.**

**Since my story is purely Psychological/Horror themed, I've thought of a little something to make it more interesting, and that's to include extra chapters with hidden meanings. The thing about it is that I really really**

_**really **_**want you guys to see the story through my perspective, so you could feel the spark/magic in all of its glory. The best way, is to throw a few clues here and there.**

**Oh and, this extra chapter isn't related to the main story (the game/present time etc...) Just think of it as a... flashback or something...**

**Anyway, enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Extra Chapter #1: **To whom...? 

* * *

_I remember how all eyes were on me...Carefully watching my every movement. Lab coats, name tags, disgusted faces... The same old routine that I despised with all my heart, Throwing, bashing, torturing me without feeling an ounce of guilt. Yes, this is truly what I would call... An abuse of power.  
_

* * *

"How's 'sample 106' doing?" A random scientist asked, handing over a few documents to hisfemale co-worker. She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips as she grabbed the papers from his grasp.

"No improvements whatsoever." She sighed, "We've been doubling the injections and doses, but he hasn't changed a bit."

"A stubborn little brat, ain't he?" Another scientist came, hands hidden in his pockets. "The project's done and going, but he's the only one who's not ready."

"What the heck is the director thinking?" The woman shook her head in disbelief, "He's clearly not capable, both physically _and _mentally. Throwing him in would only cause havoc!"

"He's been insisting on using him since he found out about his... 'condition', we can't really do anything about it, aside cooperating."

"The project won't succeed with him being our 'sample', I'm telling you."

"Enough of that," The older man snapped, "It's time we start our regular check-up and see how it goes." He spoke calmly as he wore the scientific gloves. They all nodded and prepared themselves as well, despite knowing that the result would always be the same.

The room he was confined in was completely white, with only a single bed and a desk to decorate it with. He wasn't allowed to go out and see the light of day, his sole purpose of living was to complete their 'project'. No more, no less.

_All eyes were on me._

He was the laughing stock, their little guinea pig.

_Carefully watching my every movement._

They unlocked the door, knowing that he memorized their check-up hours perfectly. The woman sighed yet again as she opened the metallic door, eyebrows furrowed and forehead sweaty.

He was there, sitting on the bed calmly. Two pure blue orbs staring directly into their direction, not leaving their sight. His pure white pyjamas were stained with what appeared to be blood.

The older scientist made a pitiful look upon noticing the thirteen-year old boy's bleeding nose and pale features, they _clearly _overdid it with the dosage, but he wouldn't dare say anything for now. The director didn't want to waste too much of the drug, but somehow that insignificant little brat was worth the waste. No matter how life-threatening the use of it is, he still wants to continue on with their experiment.

Their 'worthless' experiment.

Another woman entered the room with what appeared to be a wet towel and paper tissues, ready to wipe the blood off of the boy's face and clothes. He started bleeding frequently after they began doubling the dosage, either from the nose or when urinating. They tried their best to make sure that his metabolism got used to the frequent injections and the drug, it was necessary to go through such steps if they wanted to achieve their goal.

Once she was done cleaning, the woman immediately excused herself and left, not wanting to hinder their check-up session.

The boy glanced up to see the older man standing right next to him, face stoic. He remembered him perfectly; _Ulric Autenburg._ And just like his name, he also remembered exactly what he was supposed to do upon seeing him.

_Undress._

His pale blue eyes glanced back down to unbutton his white shirt, not bothering to fuss.

_All eyes were on him._

After carefully removing his shirt, he began to take off his p-j pants. _Good ol' routine._

Carefully watching his every movement.

Ulric tilted his head to the side at the sight of the boy's extremely skinny body, and turned to throw one or two glares at his assistants.

"The boy's all skin and bones, has he been fed properly?" He asked in a low tone. The woman, Eugenia; was reluctant to answer.

"Of course he has... Since he's still a growing boy, we tried our best to bring him the most nutritional meals." She straightened her back as she handed him over another set of papers, "We added an extra meal as well, just to make sure that he keeps healthy."

Ulric took a small look at the papers then glared at Eugenia, "You call _this _healthy?" He pointed at the boy, who was still standing naked amongst them. She averted her eyes, looking at the ground shamelessly. The rest weren't doing a good job in acting brave either...

And so he snapped. Throwing the papers away violently, startling his colleagues.

"This isn't a game, _VERDAMMT!" _He yelled, "We have a project! A _serious _project in our hands, and all you do is paperwork instead of the actual work itself?! The director wants results, and our job is to get them! This isn't a fucking playground, can't you see that?!" He breathed, eyebrows furrowed in anger.

The room suddenly became silent.

Their 'sample' didn't even bat an eye at Ulric's sudden outburst, but only stared blankly instead. His pale blue bangs covered most of his face, hence making it difficult for them to see his expression. It was in days like these that they all just wanted to get it over with and finish their god-forsaken project. The government gave them the cash, the power and even the authorization to do it. They've put up with disastrous working conditions at first, but gradually became more and more at ease after it wasn't considered... 'illegal' anymore. The only thing they've been asked to do, was to keep their mouth shut. The outside world didn't have to know about it, and if they did...

Heaven forbid.

Now they've been stuck with that... _Bratty little unwanted kid _that was _far too quiet and creepy _for their liking. Hell... Perhaps it was because he _was _unwanted that they managed to get their hands on him. The surprising part is that he's actually their director's child.

_How unusual, _they thought. Who would want their own child to participate in such a gruesome project? A monster, perhaps... But it wouldn't surprise them if he were one anyways, that man showed far too little humanity for their liking.

There was him... And his most trusted scientist; Ulric. After the years, you'd think that he'd become at bit more gentle... composed and calm, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. He was a hard one, harsh... Perhaps even worse than the director himself. Not only was he a monstrous seven feet tall colossal man, but also more muscular than anyone could be. They nicknamed him 'the golem' after his physique and mental. Nothing mattered to him aside work and work alone, nothing.

Well, they believed that... before they began experimenting on 'sample 106'.

So far he became even more irritated whenever it concerned the boy, going through extreme lengths just to make sure that he'd stay strong and healthy. His education, manners and everything else was his entire responsibility, almost like 106 was his own child.

He was genuinely worried about the kid, they knew that much. But will it truly be of use? That boy showed very little emotions, and spoke barely two words a day. They learned that he was unable to master any more languages; it was already a miracle that he spoke German and English flawlessly. Adding anything more would damage his... 'limited' brain.

The others cared very little for the boy, to them; it was just another chore. The excitement was when the project would be ready to begin... The boredom was to collect the 'samples' and experiment on them.

_Annoying._

Ulric suddenly sighed, covering his face with the palm of his hand. He looked at the floor, no... _Glared _at the floor with such intensity that it nearly frightened them to death. They could see he was trying to calm himself, their incompetency nearly destroyed the entire laboratory.

"Alright... Let's try to fix things a little now, shall we?" He suggested, slowly raising his head. "Have you actually _checked _if he even _ate _his meals?"

Eugenia looked around, realizing none wanted to answer; and so decided to do it at their stead... _again._

"No..." She sighed quietly, afraid to look at Ulric's deadly expression.

"Alright," he clenched his fists as he gave them a very _very _forced smile, "That's nice... _sehr gut! _I'm... very proud... of all of you..." He spat, his tone lowering dangerously. "I certainly hope you're all aware that the project is to end in exactly six months, right?" He added, his smile becoming wicked. They all nodded simultaneously.

"Yes... We know that very well," Hanz, the youngest of the group; said calmly. "But we try to be careful, he isn't our only 'sample' and well.. We really want to see if the new drug worked correctly and—" He suddenly stopped upon realizing what he just said. Eugenia bit her lip and so did the others, a curse escaping her lips as Ulric turned slowly.

"What is it you just said...?" The older man approached Hanz with a dark aura, making him step back in fear.

"Sir, this isn't what you think!" Eugenia came in between them, "106 wasn't being tested on, the drug was guaranteed to be safe and beneficial for our—"

"I don't give a damn if it's safe or not!" He snapped, "You _used _a drug on the boy without authorization!" His roars echoed in the small room. Startling even the few guards on the other side of the metallic door. "When will you learn that 106 isn't like the other 'samples'? His body is already weak as it is!" He suddenly grabbed the boy by the wrist, bringing him closer, and then pointed his gloved finger at the many syringe marks on his arms and legs. Eugenia made sure to look away, this wasn't a pleasant sight.

"See that?" He continued to point at the marks, bruises and other things that stained his pale body while hissing, "This is what your incompetence led to... If you paid extra attention to 106, this wouldn't have happened!" He shouted yet again, "And the project would have ALREADY been done by the now!"

"We only followed the director's orders!" Hanz said defensively, "He was the one who told us to use the new drugs on 106!"

"Hanz!" Eugenia gasped; they weren't supposed to reveal that. Especially to Ulric!

The young man gave his friend a remorseful look, but he had no choice. It was the truth, and it needed to be spoken.

"The director..." Ulric repeated, slowly releasing the boy's wrist; which became red due to his strong grip. His sky blue eyes glanced up, only but to see Ulric's hands balling into fists. He gritted his teeth and suddenly, turned to face the boy.

Blue eyes met brown, gentle brown orbs that he'd known his whole life.

For a moment, he wanted to speak. To say something. Anything.

But Ulric's smile stopped him from doing so.

_How unusual._

"I'll have a talk with him," he announced, removing his gloves and tossing them towards a nearby trashcan. "Continue with the check-up, make sure he doesn't have any more injuries, and tend to them if he does. I'll be back shortly."

And with that said, he left.

_This was the last time I ever saw him._

They continued as they were told, touching him, looking at him with disgust.

_The project's nearly done; the only thing that stopped its completion is me._

"Ulric's right, he's far too skinny..." Eugenia mumbled, "We should've taken a break from that one, maybe if we stop—"

"Don't be an idiot, Eugenia." Burnell interrupted her, "The director's orders are final, we won't stop giving him the usual dose until he tells us to."

"What about... Ulric?" Hanz finally said, making Burnell snort.

"He's about to be kicked out, obviously."

"What?! That can't be... I mean, he's been part of the project far longer than any of us!"

"True, but he's been opposed to many things lately, and the director is quite displeased with his current behaviour..." He smirked, "And with that temper? Hell, I'd say he'd be lucky to just _get fired_!" He laughed.

"I doubt he'd do more than that," Eugenia rolled her eyes, "They were best-buds since the beginning of the project."

"Best-Buds?" Hanz raised an eyebrow, then slowly shook his head; "I don't think anyone could be the director's 'best-bud'."

They remained quiet, then suddenly stared directly into the boy's eyes.

_Again, the same feeling._

Hanz fidgeted, "Does he... actually understand us?"

_Of course I do, you irritating schwein._

"Oh come on, he's not _that _stupid!"

_Shut it, blondie.  
_  
"Then why doesn't he say anything?"

_I simply don't see the need to._

"Even if he did say something, it wouldn't change shit." Burnell prepared the syringe with the contents of their new drug, "He'd still be our little lab-mice."

106 looked up, contemplating the ceiling. He never liked to see it when they injected their _shit _in his body. He got used to it, eventually; and it felt less and less painful each time.

"Maybe... Just maybe, this is the right drug?" Hanz smiled slightly, hope in his features. Eugenia bit her lip.

"Let's just hope it is, if not... I don't know how he'll turn out. He's already quite pitiful as it is."

"Well, on the bright side..." Burnell grabbed the boy's arm, "At least there won't be any more nuisances to stop us, _right?"_

He didn't quit looking up.

_All eyes were on me._

Then caught the sight of a familiar figure, on the other side of the thick glass.

_... Except his._

The project wasn't even finished...

He wasn't even ready...

But even so, it already took away everything.

He hated that project.

He hated his guts.

He hated that _game._

... Despite it not even starting.

**TBC.**

**Alright, hope you liked this extra-chapter! Had fun writing it, (truth to be told, I wrote it a long time ago... Planned to make this my very first chapter, but reconsidered.) but still figured I'd modify a few things. The sad part, my dear dear readers... is that I won't be able to update until**

_**winter vacation. **_**That's right, I can't even LOOK at the PC without being shouted at, so it's hardcore study-time for me. I'm terribly sorry, and I hope that you'll be patient enough to wait until December. I too, wish to write as fast as possible, but school wouldn't let me.**

**Putting that aside, I hope you understood/liked this chapter. Please review, as I will always be able to read them throughout my phone! Cheers, and thanks for your amazing support!**

**And till next time!**


	9. Chapter Seven: Can't you see he's using

**Well, looks like I'm back on stage; dearest readers! Again, my apologies for the late update; those pesky exams caught me at a bad time. Let's just hope I'll manage to write enough chapters in these 2 weeks I have!**

**Just remember to review for me!**

**(This chapter contains a bit of graphic torture, you have been warned...)**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Seven: "Can't you see he's using you?!"  
**

* * *

Things happened too fast... _Way _too fast, he thought.

How in heaven's name were they still alive? He was absolutely; _positively and utterly __**sure **_that Nutty threw that grenade straight towards their enemy, who stood a mere 5 metres ahead of them. There was no way the duo could have survived, or even escaped the explosion in time, if they did... miraculously manage to get away; it wouldn't be without losing an arm or a leg.

But he was wrong, dead wrong. Both of them were alive, and he had no idea how that happened.

"Damn it..." The candy-lover cursed, panting and sweating furiously due to their crazy run a few minutes ago. "I should've come up with something better."

Splendid's eyes widened dangerously, "Are you out of your mind?!" He hissed, "Throwing that grenade in such a short distance, you could've gotten us KILLED!"

Nutty simply stared at him and then rolled his eyes in a bored motion, obviously not caring about the hero's sudden change in temper. Sure, he did something reckless, sure it was stupid of him; but it didn't change the fact that _he _was the one who saved their asses. If not, then that pink-haired son of a bitch would have already finished them off and won two lives.

Both He and Splendid were hiding behind a tree, trying desperately to catch their breaths. It was indeed, quite hard to believe that this whole mess started because of the blue-haired hero's stomach. If not, then everything would've been okay; and they would have probably already reached the campsite by now.

But they didn't, and found themselves trapped in the woods with a crazy man holding an AK-47 instead.

"You do realize this is all _your_ fault, right?" Nutty spat, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I was seriously hoping that you wouldn't cause any more trouble by now."

"I was extremely hungry, mind you. And that fish was worth the bite!" Splendid said confidently.

"You must be fucking mental," He slowly shook his head in disbelief. "But that's not the point, we gotta' get out of here."

"Wait... he's not dead?!"

Nutty remained quiet as he analyzed their surroundings. If that man was truly what he believed him to be, then they were both in a deep mess.

"You have to keep quiet, alright?" He whispered as he took a grenade from underneath his shirt, "If we make too much noise, then we're done for."

"Hold on, you're serious?! He's ali—" Nutty firmly placed a hand on the hero's lips, stopping him from finishing his sentence. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was useless blabbing.

It didn't take him long to notice a tall, lean figure appear from behind.

The candy-lover cursed mentally.

With that dangerous weapon still in hand and those dark glasses firmly in place, the pink-haired stranger approached them slowly. He had one of the softest smiles one could think of. This was, quite unusually amusing to him.

"That was a well done diversion, little man." He chuckled, "I underestimated you."

Nutty furrowed his brows, he didn't need any compliments. Especially now, of all times; when his life was being threatened.

"However," his smile faded, "I'm afraid that it wasn't enough to stop me." He spoke, his tone low and menacing. Nutty heard him reload his weapon while humming an unknown melody, his steps becoming closer and closer.

The teen's breathing became suddenly uneven as he readied himself. Splendid eyed him questioningly at the sight of his flushed cheeks and sweaty forehead. While the hero was indeed frustrated by their current situation, the lime-haired boy's state was far more worrisome.

"Y-you okay there, friend?" Splendid asked in a worried tone, it was the first time he saw his comrade so tired and weak.

"Shut up, I'm... Fine..." He swallowed hard before panting like crazy, his cheeks reddening astonishingly.

The hero raised his brows at that.

_"I'm okay, why do you worry about me?" the little boy chuckled as the blue-haired teen stubbornly tucked him into bed._

_"You aren't fine, you're sick and you're sweating and you're cheeks are red and it's bad and you need treatment and—"_

_"You're making my head hurt, bro..." he laughed, making the blue-haired teen blink suddenly._

_"Ah, sorry..." he muttered, "I just... You see I really want you to..." he sighed, "Forget it, just get some rest, everything will be fine."_

_"Okay," the boy's smile suddenly faded as the teen turned off the lights, ready to leave. The boy called his name, making him stop._

_"What is it?"_

_"Do you... Do you think I'll end up like them...?" His voice was barely above a whisper with a hint of sadness and fear. The teen's eyes widened and he immediately rushed to his side._

_"NEVER!" He exclaimed, holding the boy by the hands, "I won't let it happen, you will not suffer the same fate, you hear?! I'll be here to protect you; I'm always here, aren't I?" He forced himself to smile, to reassure him, to make sure he felt comfortable._

_But it didn't stop him from shedding a single tear._

_The teen looked in horror at the sight of his little brother crying in the bed, "You say that to make me feel better... But I already know that it's too late."_

_"No..." he whispered, caressing his cheek, "It's never too late, I'll work hard, I'll pay the doctor, you'll get your treatment and you'll be as good as new! Then we'll go to the comic-con and buy all the figurines you want!" he forced himself to smile again, "We'll go out and play the whole day, buy ice cream and watch movies, with lots and lots of popcorn! I'll slurp the whole slushy and get myself a brain freeze, just like Tommy Napkins!"_

_"Just like Tommy Napkins?" the boy sobbed._

_He nodded._

_"Just like Tommy Napkins."_

_The little boy then laughed. A single drop of blood poured out of his mouth, much to the teen's horror._

_"Big brother is a **liar**."_

It was in that very moment that something deep within Splendid's heart began to throw sparks everywhere, making him recall a series of unwanted events that wounded him in the past. The feeling of a scene he knew of far too well, the feeling of _déjà vu._

And it was in that very moment...

That he found himself unconsciously holding him by the hand.

Nutty turned to face the hero, eyes wide. Judging by his expression, he was most likely confused, angry and possibly anxious. But Splendid paid no mind as he stood up, glancing at the mysterious man's direction. Before he even knew it, four simple words escaped his mouth.

"Do you trust me?" He spoke, his voice serious. The sudden urge to protect invaded his whole body and mind, telling him to move, to do something. Their lives were in danger; he just couldn't stand there and do nothing.

The lime-haired teen raised an eyebrow at that, unsure if he was serious or simply on drugs. That simple sentence was so out of character that it nearly blew his mind to shreds.

Before he could say something in protest, he felt Splendid's grip tighten on his hand, eyes burning with determination. The hero was sending his companion silent messages, urging him to reply.

Nutty sighed, glanced at their joined hands and made some kind of sound of disgust and protest. But nodded, regardless.

Splendid smiled.

* * *

"Now now, please hold still." The war vet whispered as he wiped the knife clean with a paper tissue, "Wriggling would only make things worse, you know?"

He sounded so calm that it nearly drove Shifty mad. Those past five minutes felt like hours, just seeing him wipe that knife made him delirious. God, couldn't he just _kill _him already?! What was the point in playing with an injured leg? What accomplishments could he possibly make with it? There was no point in suffering for such a worthless thing.

But he knew... he knew that Flippy was going to enjoy it. Torture wasn't his specialty, but his years of suffering spent in the army gave him a vivid idea on that matter.

Killing was easy, but torture was a whole different thing. He had to make it painful enough for him to spill the beans, and carefully enough for him not to die. It'd be problematic if he gave away his life without saying anything of use. It was no secret that the dark green-haired teen became Lumpy's ally, along with his twin brother. Their mischievous nature raised the war vet's suspicion, and that was quite enough.

Flippy smirked at the sight of Shifty's frightened eyes. Yes, it was going to be very _amusing._

There was only one problem, though...

The young war vet glanced towards his red-headed friend, who tried her best not to stare. She acted so cutely that it made him smile; demure women like her were certainly rare; but quite pleasant to the sight.

"Flaky," he softy called, making her tilt her head.

"Y-Yes?"

The green-haired war vet smiled, "I would very much appreciate it if you could bring me a bucket of water."

"W-Water..." She repeated breathlessly, still looking the other way out of respect, "Right, I'll be right back!"

The red-head stood up quickly and dashed out of their sight, searching for a suitable bucket. She found a small door on her left and opened it, amazed that there was a whole hallway down the stairs that lead to more doors. She shyly tilted her head to look at Flippy, "I... I think it'll take a while..." she spoke honestly. Flippy blinked then waved in dismissal.

"That's okay, you take your time there," his smile became even sweeter, "While you'll go look for it, I'll try to take good care of our little friend." Shifty's eyes widened and Flippy smirked.

The red-head nodded, "Then I-I'll b-be going now," she carefully closed the door behind her and left. Shifty cursed himself mentally for not making enough noise, there was no way he'd tolerate being alone with this... this... _monster._

Before he could throw him another glare, Flippy removed the dirty cloth from the teen's lips in a swift motion; making him cough and spit out of disgust. It smelled like dry blood, sweat and other wild things. It smelled like _war._

"You dick! How dare you! How fucking dare you!" Shifty cried, "There's nothing for me to say! Just kill me right now so we could get this over with!" It almost sounded like an order, _almost. _The terror in his voice deceived him, made him look even more vulnerable as he started quivering in fear. This made Flippy smirk in triumph, feeling a sense of authority rise inside of him. Oh this was going to be good.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he shook his head, "Not until you spit out _every little thing _you know about this round."

"I said..." he gathered up all of his courage as he inhaled deeply, "There's _fucking _nothing to say! Can't you understand that?!"

The war vet scowled at his victim, eyes staring directly into his. A sudden annoyed and frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he took a thick duct tape from his pocket. Shifty raised an eyebrow at the item, wondering what he was going to do with it.

"You won't talk? Fine then, I'm not forcing you..." He pursed his lips, took the bottle of alcohol and placed it next to him, readying himself for something Shifty never wanted to happen. But what scared him the most was how soon he gave up in making him speak; just what was it that he had in mind? What was he scheming, plotting, and thinking of? Damn his stoic mask... Damn his calm exterior!

Flippy sighed quietly as he examined the younger boy's injury a second time, he couldn't help but look disgusted at the sight.

Shifty was about to throw another wave of insults until the war vet forced open the teen's mouth, shoving the dirty cloth inside forcefully. The disgusting taste and foul odour made him want to instantly spit it out, too bad for him though... it wasn't possible after Flippy gagged his mouth with the duct tape, making it impossible for him to remove it.

"At least the taste would distract you from the pain you're about to endure..." he chuckled, "And a bonus; I won't get to hear any more of your insults."

Shifty made muffled sounds as he kept wriggling uncomfortably, panic written in his eyes. However, the more he moved; the deeper the cloth went in his mouth. If he continued at such a rhythm, then it was bound to make him hurl any moment now.

Flippy kept his stoic mask regardless of Shifty's reckless acts. No matter how he tried to kick him in the groin, or even shove him aside with his feet; he simply didn't budge.

_'That guy's a freakin' bag of muscles!' _He thought in terror.

Tired of his victim's ruthless ways, Flippy decided to start the 'treating' process quickly; before Flaky's arrival. He was smart enough to know that the canteen had a surprisingly large and deep variety of doors and closets, giving him enough time to torture the twin.

Flippy pinned Shifty's leg firmly to the cold floor, making him hiss in pain. The impact caused his wound to widen and bleed furiously. A smile crossed his features, and he knew exactly what to do.

He calmly grabbed the large bottle of alcohol and poured it on his injury, paying no mind to the teen's screams of pain and brute wriggling. He was aware that he exceeded the amount needed but didn't care; the point was to clean him up, right? That's exactly what he was doing.

The twin groaned in pain, eyes tightly shut. It was only the beginning and he knew what the war vet had in store for him, he knew that the game was going to end up being a living hell for both of them if they continued following Lumpy like that.

But... it was still worth the chance, they could risk anything just for an opportunity to win. Lumpy could give them that opportunity.

What he revealed to them that day, when they signed the contract... was beyond what they had imagined. They just wanted to join the camp to have fun, to enjoy their last remaining days together before their adulthood. Nothing more, nothing less... and _yet._

Oh cruel cruel cruel Reality... _Just had to kick in so impatiently!_

Flippy raised an eyebrow at Shifty, who appeared to be lost in his thoughts. Tears were already pouring out of his eyes, either due to pain or sadness. He never would have thought that _minor _torture could draw out so much emotion from a person. _'Guess there's a first for everything...' _He snorted.

Shifty snapped back from his reverie the moment he felt a sharp, painful and pointy object enter his wound brutally. His bloodshot eyes widened as a muffled scream escaped his taped mouth.

It didn't take him long to realize that Flippy had already started removing the bullet from his thigh.

The war vet dug deeper into the wound, not appearing to be bothered by the gruesome sight. Shifty's thigh was already completely blue and smashed up, covered by both dry and fresh blood. Judging from the smell... it was probably infected too, but the alcohol was surely starting to do the effect.

"It got deeper..." he thought aloud, eyes still fixed on the task at hand. "It's going to take a while."

Shifty suddenly choked on the cloth, feeling it get deeper inside his mouth. He felt his nose bleed from all the heat and pressure, _'This isn't going very well.'_

His coughs were starting to get rougher and rougher as he felt the cold blade go deeper into his wound. He tilted his head up to avoid witnessing the sight of his arch enemy torturing him so... sadistically. Even he couldn't believe the paradox in all this... He was cleaning up his wound, removing the bullet... trying to help him but in the meantime he was intentionally _torturing _him. It nearly made him want to laugh in a hysterical fashion, _nearly. _If it wasn't for the unbearable pain and disgusting cloth in his mouth...

Flippy felt the tip of the blade touch something hard and immediately assumed it was the bullet. The war vet smiled triumphantly as he pulled the knife out. Marvelled by the amount of blood on the blade, yes... it was truly deep.

He sighed quietly in satisfaction as he poured more alcohol on the knife. Shifty began to sob uncontrollably, allowing the tears to fall down freely on his cheeks. Flippy decided to ignore that, though.

He suddenly leaned closer to him, his breath steady and eyes fierce. Shifty tried his hardest not to appear weak in front of the war vet, but his trembling form and tears betrayed him cruelly. The sight was simply too _satisfying _for the older man, and he was most likely enjoying every little second of it.

Flippy got close enough to whisper something into his ear, a small obvious smirk illuminating his features.

"You still have a chance, you know?" He spoke softly, "I can be a nice guy if you cooperate..."

_'To hell with that...' _Shifty furrowed his brows.

"I'm aware that Lumpy bribed you both," he added with a small chuckle, "I also know that he gave you something that was _rightfully _mine."

He could feel Flippy's cold hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"I'd be... very... very... _very _thankful... If you could just stop being so _**fucking **_persistent the whole time, and finally tell me... where the _bloody hell _he hid it." He hissed and leaned back to take a look at his victim's face, half expecting him to nod in agreement, but was startled to see Shifty's furious expression instead. If his mouth wasn't taped, then he would have surely spat on his face.

The young man shook his head slowly, sending the war vet silent messages. He could clearly see the stubbornness in his eyes, _'I ain't telling you shit!'_

The green-haired war vet stood still, eyes not leaving his victim's, as if processing the situation carefully. It was only a matter of minutes before Flippy broke the silence with a small chuckle... that eventually transformed into a hysterical laugh.

Shifty couldn't help but feel discomfort at that sight, _'What in the-?!'_

His laughter faded after a good minute. It didn't stop him from keeping a small smile, however.

"... Is that so..." he slowly whispered, still smiling. Shifty was trying to anticipate his next move, seeing how dangerously calm he looked. Whatever he had in mind wasn't good.

It was only after a good thirty seconds of eerie silence that Flippy decided to finish his 'good deed' by stabbing him directly on the infected wound.

* * *

Nutty had trouble understanding what Splendid had in mind, but he didn't care; for it seemed as though he truly needed his help. The situation was desperate, he felt weak, and he needed him, no matter how absurd the thought of 'relying' on the hero seemed.

The candy boy didn't really appear to be himself, or so it appeared. He never pictured himself holding hands with a guy, (especially Splendid) or even less showing his weakness to a guy (especially especially Splendid) no matter what the situation was. Nutty, despite being shorter than average, slightly androgynous and perhaps a bit thick-headed... was strong. Stronger than most adults, be it both mentally and physically. He knew the tricks, the flaws, he had the intelligence required to pull anything off.

And yet... There he was, in the worst possible place, at the worst possible moment with the worst possible person, falling _sick._

"I hope... *cough* that you know what you're doing," he inhaled sharply, his body already drenched in his sweat. Splendid clenched his jaw at the sight, thinking it might be best not to engage on a conversation when he was so painfully weak. The mysterious pink-haired man was still heading slowly towards their direction, but the hero made no move whatsoever to escape their upcoming fate, much to Nutty's horror.

He was being sceptical, but the blue-haired hero didn't care; for he knew _exactly _what to do.

Splendid tightened his grip on Nutty's hand, "Listen, I'm going to do something reckless..." Nutty's eyes widened and his mouth opened to say something but Splendid raised his free hand to stop him, "Don't worry, you'll be safe as long as the plan goes like I want it to."

"Everything you do is reckless, you idiot..." he coughed again, "If you admit it then how exactly _reckless _is it? Do you think you can pull it off without screwing up?" his voice was barely above a whisper, and the man's steps were getting too close for his liking.

"I'm a hero, I'm confident in what I'm doing," he assured him with a small smile and pulled him closer, Nutty's brows furrowed at that and had a vivid idea of the plan he had in mind. This wasn't going to go well at all.

"Oi... You do know that he's-"

"Yes, I know," Splendid spoke calmly, looked at the nearest tree branch, glanced towards Nutty, and then finally carried the candy lover in his arms; princess style. Yup, this wasn't going to go well at all.

"You, my friend, are going up," he smiled childishly and Nutty cursed under his breath when the hero suddenly threw him high enough for him to grab on said tree branch, making him dangle like a stray cat. He thanked the gods he understood his silent message, or even that he had enough strength to grab on that branch, but what he was afraid of was-

"Found you," the man said slowly, instantly pulling on the trigger and aiming for the blue-haired hero. Nutty's eyes widened in fear, _that moron!_

But in the blink of an eye, the hero was nowhere to be found. The stranger's brows furrowed as he reloaded another magazine. '_Their fleshes remain intact, no unusual sound whatsoever. I can hear the lad's breathing... But what happened to the adult that was with him?'_

He tilted his head slightly, listening to the wind blow on the trees' leaves. His expression hidden by his abnormally long sweater and dark sunglasses, Nutty figured he was probably concentrating in an attempt to figure out Splendid's whereabouts.

Certainly, he did good in trusting his instincts, because that man was, without doubt; _blind._

The lime-haired teen smirked, despite his heavy pants and flushed cheeks; he trusted himself to be triumphant. True, the ruse didn't do much but it was worth it, he believed. Knowing he couldn't see and that he possessed a keen sense of hearing, Nutty came up with a strategy that even startled the young hero himself. He had needed a way to get a hold of his grenade underneath his shirt without being too suspicious, so he used a random (false) excuse to render the blind man speechless, and make him drop his guard.

_I could've come up with something less... Awkward, but whatever, _He mentally shrugged, it worked didn't it? That's all that mattered.

He half expected him to die from it, but wasn't surprised when he came out unharmed. The real purpose though, was to make a noise loud enough for them to run for their lives without the pink-haired son-of-a-bitch stalking them with his AK-47.

Turns out he was so _wrong._

Nutty sighed and looked up, there were a few more branches and if he could try _just _a little bit, then surely; he'd be able to climb up higher and get a better view of the camp. The only problem was that if he, by the greatest storms of terrible luck made the slightest noise... He'd rather not think about it. So he held up his breath and stood still, sitting on the branch while clenching his shirt.

The strange man chuckled darkly as he raised his weapon up, "I know you're here, little squirrel..." he spoke in his low, intense voice. "No need to hold your breath, your presence could be sensed from miles away."

_Shit, _he cursed mentally as he slipped his hand under his shirt, reaching for a grenade. The sound of the man reloading a new magazine made him halt.

"Now now, little squirrel... I thought you were wiser than that," he used a tone that most adults would use on a naughty child, "Perhaps I should unleash this magazine's contents on you? It could make you wiser." He looked up, "It wouldn't hurt to give uncle here one of your precious lives, yes?" His grin became even sweeter and Nutty wanted to wipe it off with a good old-fashioned punch.

He wanted to say 'I'd rather die' but remembered that it was exactly what the man wanted-

_Fuck my life, _he thought ironically as he was about to gamble the whole deal until the man suddenly cocked his head to the side and grabbed an object that was headed towards his direction. His brows furrowed as he traced the object that had been thrown at him and was mildly surprised at the realization that it was a knife.

Nutty's eyebrows shot up in surprise while the man simply smirked.

"I see that you haven't fled, that's good..." he threw the knife back and there was the sound of rustling leaves on a few bushes. The pink-haired man wasted no time in firing the whole area, the sounds of bullets dropping on the ground rhythmically and nature being destroyed by the rifle's firing speed was enough to make the candy lover cover his ears, grimacing. He sighed in frustration when he finished up his 30-round magazine.

Nutty blinked and slowly lowered his hands, he looked up and decided, _now's the time._

The teen prepared himself then jumped high enough to grab on another branch, gathering all of his strength to manage his own weight. He repeated the process and climbed as high as he could, eventually reaching the peak of the tree, no matter what he wasn't going to let that bastard notice him. He just hoped Splendid was alright and that he wasn't hurt.

The blind man cursed lightly as he tried to reload his rifle until Splendid, filled with a ton of scratches, emerged from the bushes, grinning triumphantly while shamelessly slapping his behind.

"Why don't you try to catch me you sore LO-SER!" He provoked, laughing boyishly at the man who was now furious.

"You... I'll kill you!" He roared and started shooting, but Splendid was already far ahead, running at an intense speed. The man cursed again and followed after him, trying to catch up and give the hero a piece of his mind. Nutty looked at the scene, eyes widening in understanding.

_'He's trying to lure him out...'_

"YOU IDIOT!" The teen yelled, trying to jump from his tree to another, "Don't you dare risk your life because of me!" His cheeks turned into a red that would put Flaky's color to shame, he was sweating profusely and his vision was becoming uneven the more he jumped. He cursed again, angered by his weakness.

"I can't... I can't even..." he panted, starting to feel dizzy, "Damn!"

All he had to do... was wait.

* * *

Lifty flinched the moment he heard the sounds of firearms, alarmed. He looked at every possible direction while clenching his fists, the paper the war vet so desired tucked safely in his pocket. He squeezed his chest hard, feeling his heart beating faster and faster by the second.

The war vet had made a clear path for him to follow by wiping his brother's blood on the trees. It was all, an indication for him to come; to _save _Shifty. He was there; he witnessed it at all... He saw how the green-haired man pointed his gun at Shifty, he saw him shoot him in the thigh, he saw his brother squirm, the two unknown individuals part and most importantly... he saw that _glare. _

Glare that was directed to him, and him only. It made him tremble, cower in fear under his fearful gaze. His brother was taken before him and he couldn't do a thing because he was just too _scared _to move, or even breathe. Lumpy had warned them about the war vet, he told them how dangerous he could be, and yet they fell for his trap.

_'That evil bastard!' _He thought hatefully, _'If he does something to Shifty I'll—' _

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of footsteps running towards his very direction. He immediately halted and tried to reach for the steel pipe on his back, whatever was going to happen... He'll fight, no matter what.

The running steps got closer to him and he felt himself ready to strike, it's the survival of the fittest, he had to win, he had to be the victor, he had to-

A young man with blue hair appeared in front of him, covered in scratches and bruises, his dark blue tracksuit was covered in dirt and a few droplets of blood. He was smiling so brightly it almost felt like he was having the time of his life, despite his miserable-looking state. Lifty didn't lower his steel pipe, even if he believed that he was trustworthy.

Splendid halted immediately at the sight of Lifty; the hero frowned and looked behind him before cursing.

"Shit!"

In an instant, Lifty found himself being carried from the waist by the hero, who was running at full speed towards an unknown direction. The teen protested, "Hey! Put me down!" He threw his fists in the air but nothing stopped him. Splendid rolled his eyes and continued running and jumping, going through various bushes and small trees that kept bruising them both.

"Shut it, I'm _saving _you!" He said hurriedly, sighed and groaned in annoyance; "I wasn't expecting to cross paths with any of you, now what am I supposed to do?!"

"What the... Just let go of me!"

"I'd love to, but..." There was another trail of rapid-fire aimed towards them and the hero barely dodged it, running and looking behind him for any signs of the pink-haired maniac. He sighed again, "Now you see why."

Lifty felt like all the color had been drained from his face, "Th-Then keep running! I don't want to die now!"

"I KNOW," he jumped over another bush and tried to regain his sense of direction, "Damn it! You ruined my plan!"

"No, _you _ruined _my _plan!" He replied with just as much ferocity.

"Shut up! Let me think!" The hero stopped briefly, panting like mad. He looked at both ways; unsure if the canteen was anywhere this close. If he remembered correctly, there was a hidden passageway inside, and if he remembered even _better... _There was a wine cellar, just a tad deeper. With all the alcohol there, he'd be more than able to get rid of him. All he had to do was trap the bastard in before sending the whole cellar in flames. He knew it was a bit too much, but after seeing him catch one of his knives so damn easily... He ought to be going for that plan.

But now he had no idea if he was even _near _the canteen. Running straight ahead wouldn't have been a problem, he had the speed necessary. He had the misfortune to cross paths with someone and he felt obliged to help, for if he didn't, then what was the point in self-proclaiming himself as a hero?

Splendid didn't want anyone to get hurt, well... Aside from blind assholes who were playing, apparently.

_'This is legitimate defence, whatever happens... happens.'_

"Listen here, friend—" Splendid began.

"I'm not your friend," the teen hissed.

"Listen here, fucktard." He inhaled sharply and ignored the boy's glare, "There's a crazy blind asshole holding an AK-47 on the loose, he wants me— uh, he wants everyone dead."

The rifle's rapid-fire sounds stopped, and Lifty was becoming even more uneasy.

"Then what's taking you so long?! Start running!" He whispered, eyes wide in fear. Splendid gulped.

"I can't, I've lost my way."

"You can't be serious..." he shook his head then clenched his fists, "Just run! Who cares if you lost your way?! If he comes here then—"

"I got a few knives on me," The hero informed him as he reached for his belt, "Hopefully it could help us win a bit more time."

"Time for what?" Lifty's eyebrows raised and Splendid looked at him silently before finally let him go, making him fall on the ground and land on his belly.

"Ouch!" he stood up, "You asshole..." he muttered under his breath, but Splendid didn't listen. He kept looking up and noticed the sun's position.

"It should be... East from here?" he tsked and took a knife, "Can't be sure." The hero raised an eyebrow at Lifty, "What are you still doing here? Go hide!"

Lifty wanted to bite him... Or smash him in the head with his steel pipe, "I can't hide! What if he finds me?!"

"He won't, I'm here to protect you." The hero snorted, as if he started the obvious.

The teen looked behind him nervously, "I... I'm not sure..."

"Hey, either way; staying here is still dangerous," he gestured at a bush behind him, "Go hide now or else it'll be too late."

But it was already too late the moment the blind guy appeared from the bushes, panting just as hard as the hero. Lifty shrieked and fell on his butt, backing away in a hurry behind Splendid's legs. The hero glared at the blind man and squeezed the knife tighter, ready to throw it towards him and flee at any moment.

"I *pant* finally *pant* caught up *pant* with you..." He raised the rifle and aimed it towards the hero. Lifty trembled and covered his eyes with both hands. He had four more lives, sure, but nobody said that it wouldn't be painful!

"Congrats, friend!" The hero smiled at that, "Too bad you can't get any achievement awards, talk about disappointing..."

"Shut up!" The pink-haired man roared, "I had enough of your childish games! This time, you're cornered, and I'll have the pleasure of taking away that life of yours..."

"Be my guest," he spoke darkly.

The moment seemed to be lasting forever, the man had his finger on the trigger; ready to shoot a series of bullet towards them both, while Splendid clenched on his knife, ready to distract the blind man at any moment...

It was all a matter of timing and luck, _survival of the fittest, _it was all part of the game.

The hero expected the man to start shooting, to begin his carnage but was meant with another sight instead...

There was a sound, the sound of a gunshot, then there was the gruesome sight of the blind man's brains exploding all over the trees, followed by his blood. He remained still before slowly falling on his knees, then on the ground... dead.

There stood behind him the mighty war vet, who was most definitely _not pleased._

**TBC.**

**I'm glad this chapter's over! Too much action, gore, and too much Splendid! (But that's a lie, there could never be too much Splendid to me). Anyways, thanks for waiting/reading/reviewing! I'm happy with how things progressed with the story, though I'm also a bit disappointed that there wasn't much Flaky in it. I promise that there'll be a lot of her in the next chapter, though.**

**Apologies if you encounter mistakes, I didn't re-read this chapter. I'll be sure to Edit it if I find some later.**

**Take care!**


	10. Chapter Eight: It's only the beginning

**Can words express how sorry I am? No. Can you readers forgive me? I'm not sure... But this chapter has been written with so much love and affection towards you all that I sincerely hope that I **_**will **_**be forgiven.**

**Please enjoy, and I'm really sorry for being late!**

* * *

**Carnage Paradox.**

**Chapter Eight:** **"It's only the beginning."  
**

* * *

Splendid remained still, his eyes never leaving the war-vet's angry stare. What... Had just happened? A minute ago, they were being chased by a crazy, blind lunatic with a threatening AK-47, and in a second they found him on the ground, motionless... With his brains splattered everywhere.

Slowly, the hero turned to look at the quivering twin hiding behind his legs, his eyes wide with terror and his mouth completely agape. He should've known that this was all Lifty and Shifty's fault, it was all such a complicated situation.

But... he did save them, in a way, so it was kinda' like they were indebted to him.

_'Damn... Guess I better man up now, eh?' _Splendid thought with a sigh threatening to escape his lips, no harm was about to be done, he just had to say a warm 'thank you!' and a 'we'll be on our way now!' to avoid some sort of fight with the already very _macho _war-vet, and... Damn he really didn't stand a chance, did he?

Plus, Nutty was somewhere up in the trees...

"Um..." Splendid spoke, then coughed, then stared at the blind guy's corpse... "Phew? That was close..." he said with a nervous chuckle, "thanks for helping us out! Um, we'll be... on our way now."

"Hold it," Flippy interrupted the hero, who had turned halfway in an attempt to leave. Splendid cursed mentally and turned with a small smile, trying to ignore the fact that Lifty had been bruising his leg further by holding it tightly.

"Yes?" he chirped, his smile looking disturbingly friendly. Flippy ignored that though, and simply pointed at the young teen who cowered behind him.

"Hand the brat over," he said firmly, his eyes not leaving both of their forms. Splendid hadn't budged, instead; he blinked once... Twice... Then stared at the pitiful lad at his feet as if he had completely forgotten of his existence (which wasn't the case) and turned slowly to stare yet again at the war-vet.

"What for?" he spoke with a look of exaggerated innocence, Splendid had never been too keen or mischievous, but he still held a few tricks up his sleeves.

Too bad Flippy wasn't in the mood.

"I have some matters to settle with him and his brother; they both owe me a _great _deal," he said calmly; Lifty squirmed and tried to somehow disappear behind the tall hero, until a sudden thought came to his mind.

Just like that, the twin poked his nose out and whispered with a trembling voice, "M-My brother... What have you done to him?!"

Flippy leaned closer and gave him the ear, "Huh? What was that? I didn't hear you."

Lifty bit his lip, "Shifty... My twin, is he alive?!"

"Oh... Well, why don't you come and see for yourself, hm?" he mused with a smile and extended a hand, "I'll take you to him, what do you say?"

_'This looks so incredibly suspicious that I can't help but feel scared...' _Splendid thought in amazement, _'not once in my life did I see someone appear openly creepy.'_

The hero had sincerely hoped that Lifty wouldn't take the bait, no matter how shitty he appeared to be; the lad was nothing but a mere teenager who still had a long way ahead until adulthood. He hated to admit, but seeing this one little guy die so easily would hurt him pretty bad.

Splendid couldn't help but be a softie.

"What if he doesn't want to?" The blue-haired hero crossed his arms, looking determined to block Flippy's view of the teen. "Are you going to _force _him? Huh?"

The taller man seemed to grow impatient as he took a few steps closer, "this doesn't concern you, Splendid... Move."

Both youngsters backed away at that, and Splendid took the opportunity to smack Lifty on the head while whispering urgently, "What the hell did you guys do?!"

"Nothing!" Lifty protested, until both his eyes looked at the ground in a nervous motion, "... serious..."

_'OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!'_

"If you were wandering in the forest, then surely; you must've been expecting to cross paths with him!"

"Not really, I was just trying to look for my bro! And... Perhaps... Get him out unnoticed."

"Get him out?" Splendid said with a frown, "What? He held him captive?"

"Yeah, and he hurt him real bad too!" Lifty shoved a hand within his pocket, squeezing the small piece of paper Flippy yearned to have. "I'm going to be honest with you, there's something we have that... Well... We weren't supposed to have, b-but!" He immediately interrupted Splendid's look of mild terror, "It's precious to us... It might help us _win _the game! If we hand it over to this guy... God knows what'll happen..."

"Oo...Kay..." The hero said in concentration, "So you mean to say that you have something you clearly _shouldn't _have, which is also something useful to stay alive, but this guy wants it, and he held your brother hostage (after injuring him badly) in hopes to lure you towards him like the idiot you are, so he could get that precious forbidden thing from you? Is that it?"

Lifty nodded slowly.

Splendid shook his head while grimacing, "Both of you are screwed, honestly..."

"H-Hey! Come on now!" The teen grabbed the hero by the shoulder, "aren't you a (self-proclaimed) hero?! You're supposed to _help _us!"

"Not when _you _guys are at fault! Hey, ever heard of _fair play?" _Splendid knocked the younger boy on the forehead, "Ever heard of... Oh gee, I don't know... _Staying out of trouble?!_ This is a survival game, for goodness sake! Don't expect to steal something of extreme value then run away all merry and cheery without a scratch!"

Flippy cleared his throat loudly, gaining the attention of both the boys. He eyed them warily whilst saying; "Are both of you done? I'd like to get what I came for."

The hero gave him a forced smile while mouthing, 'just a sec' before turning to glare at Lifty.

"... Give it back, Lifty." Splendid said firmly.

"Wha-"

"Give. It. Back," he spoke with persistence with his palm open, expecting to receive the item. Their lives weren't worth the risk, whatever that thing was... Even if it was helpful in various ways, there was no point in keeping it when the whole campers were running after it.

Lifty tightened his hold on the steel pipe, almost as if he readied himself to simply hit Splendid on the head with it and run away. But that option in itself wasn't a good idea... Flippy would chase after him immediately, and surely catch him to do... The worst of things. Th first round had only started, and yet he found too many complications already.

In the end, Splendid was right... He had to hand the paper over; it was bound to give him nothing but trouble anyway.

With a sigh, Lifty took from his pocket the paper and gave it to the hero, who eyed the item with such huge confusion that it nearly made the teen laugh out loud.

"That's... What's this..?" He asked with childish curiosity.

"That's what the massive bag of muscles over there is looking for," he grumbled and turned to avoid eye contact, "just give it to him, so we could get this over with and _hopefully _find my brother alive."

The hero furrowed his brows, "you're not kidding me, right?"

"No, I can't joke around when my brother's life is on the line."

There was a silent moment of thought before Splendid concluded that Lifty was telling the truth. No matter how sneaky the both of them had appeared in the beginning, they still shared a brotherly bond... One that the hero knew far too well.

Splendid pursed his lips and turned to stare at the now impatient war-vet, his eyes focused on the small piece of paper he had in hand. Judging by the sudden interest, the blue-haired boy understood that it was _truly _what Flippy wanted.

Slowly, he approached the taller (and much stronger) man whilst firmly holding the paper, determined to get it over with. Flippy grinned as he extended his hand, hoping the hero would take a hint and finally give the precious item over. As soon as he was at arm's length though, Splendid hid the paper behind his back and spoke.

"Wait..." He said suddenly, Flippy rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What _now?_" he muttered in annoyance. Splendid remained unfazed at this rude act, and simply stated the restriction.

"We won't hand it over unless you take us to Shifty." He said seriously, not averting his eyes away. Flippy had been _so close _to actually twist the annoying brat's neck! ... But remembered that he was Flaky's friend... Though it wasn't like he cared, it seemed simply foolish to just _kill _him like that, he needed to continue the act just for a while longer, THEN he'll have his delicious round of fun.

It didn't stop him from teasing, though.

"Oh?" the war-vet smiled and leaned closer to whisper near the hero's ear, "Tell me, what stops me from simply blowing your small little brains out and steal the paper, hmm?"

"Uhhh..." Splendid tried his hardest not to feel intimidated, '_damn, I have nothing to retort with!'_

Needless to say, the round wasn't going to take forever and Flippy pretty much felt triumphant, so there wasn't much to do anymore. He straightened himself and motioned with his chin for both of them to move.

"It's fine... Just move along, I'll take you to your brother." He muttered and went on his way. Both young men stared at each other, like it was the most unusual change of fate ever.

"... Huh..." The hero snorted, "Seems like... We actually did it, yeah?"

"Barely!" Lifty hissed in horror, "What if he takes us to a small, dark alley and just _skins us alive _there?!" He thought with wide eyes. Splendid rolled his own and started following the war-vet, with Lifty walking warily behind.

"Okay, first off... This is a summer camp, there are no dark alleys." He spoke with a confident tone, "And second! If he wanted to skin us alive (or just kill us) he would've done it along with that AK-47 bitch."

"Y-You can never know..." the dark-green haired teen whispered while looking at Flippy's broad and strong back, "he could be unconsciously taking us to our _doom, _like in the movies... He tells us he'll take us to a member of our family, then once we reach the house... _everyone's already dead!" _He bit his lip and did a choking motion with both his hands, "Just like that, he'd take the moment of shock as an opportunity to kill us along with the whole bunch!"

"What the..." Splendid held himself from laughing, "That's the dumbest thing—"

"We're in a _survival game, _you blue-haired retard," Lifty reminded him, "everything's possible, as long as it directly leads us towards death."

...Okay, perhaps he was right. He had honestly never thought of the possibility that... Well... That Flippy was lying and simply trying to kill them in a much more sheltered and quiet area, but in the very least they were both armed! ... With melee weapons... And Flippy had a gun, and possibly other firearms... Oh Jesus...

"We need a plan!" Lifty suddenly declared for Splendid to hear only, the hero raised an eyebrow at that but allowed the younger boy to keep talking, "Something that'll help us escape safely if anything goes wrong!"

"...Like?" Splendid began. Lifty looked around in thought... Then suddenly put his fist on the palm of his hand.

"We could bash him on the head with my steel pipe!" He said, "Then, once he faints, we'll use the opportunity to run for our damn lives!"

Splendid face-palmed and whispered 'we're so dead' under his breath repeatedly.

God help him.

* * *

The canteen's clock had been ticking far too slowly for Flaky's taste, the gunshots she had heard threatened to get closer and closer by the second, and it only made her even _more _worried than she already was.

It had (unfortunately) taken her quite a while to find a suitable bucket downstairs, the whole cellar had been akin to a maze and there were far too many doors for her taste. During her search she had been more than mortified to hear Shifty's screams of pain echo in the dark, humid area, making her wonder if the wound was truly that deep. Of course, she had known that Flippy had been cleaning it for the young teen (which was extremely kind of him) but to think that it'd be that painful...?

She shook her head and continued wiping the sweat off of Shifty's forehead. Coming upstairs only but to find him unconscious had been... A surprise, actually. The red-head had settled with that fact though, even if Flippy had gone to heaven-knows-where.

The wound on Shifty's leg had been bandaged neatly and carefully, she noticed how tight it had been tended to and it made her wonder exactly how much blood he lost. Well, judging by the large pool under his legs, she figured it was far more than intended but...

"Oh god..." She whispered and continued wiping the sweat off of his face, "I'm so sorry y-you had t-to go through all of this... What kind of mess have we g-gotten ourselves into?" the red-head thought in sorrow. All she wanted was to have fun, make friends, and possibly cure her social trauma. None of what was happening was worth it... None of it!

Flaky was about to refill the bucket with clean water until she heard footsteps coming towards the canteen. In a state of panic, the red-haired girl dashed towards the nearby table and grabbed a gun Flippy had left for her. She held the firearm with shaking hands and looked at the door with intense eyes; it could be Flippy for all she knew... But the steps were numerous so it was probably a group... A _friendly _group, if she was lucky.

Flaky gulped and squeezed the gun tightly, her finger shaking on the trigger. The steps got closer and she still didn't feel mentally prepared for... Well... Facing anybody.

_'Please be it Flippy, please be it Flippy, please be it Flippy...' _She continuously thought as the doorknob twisted only but to reveal-

Warm green eyes met with dark grey orbs and Flaky instantly allowed a relieved sigh escape her lips. The war-vet smiled and gave her a small wave, "My bad... Did I make you wait long?" he said with a chuckle. Flaky felt her bottom lip quiver, but smiled anyway and shook her hand.

"N-No, I was just... W-Worried..." She stuttered shyly and lowered the gun, which Flippy immediately noticed. He had felt bad for going out without letting her know, but the sounds of rapid fire were too alarming to be ignored, whatever threat was out there... He had to face it, and protect the one he held dear to.

Besides, he did the right thing; and he was frankly happy that she attempted to use a gun, she needed to use one sooner or later anyway.

He was about to walk towards her and pat her on the head until something strange collided with his back, followed by an 'oof!' of pain.

"Geez, try not to stop so suddenly!" The hero whined and glared at his back, hating the way the muscles on the war-vet's back threatened him by flexing... Ninety nine per-cent of the time...

Flippy sighed and side-stepped inside to allow said hero access, he looked around; waiting to find a series of corpses only but to find a confused, yet very happy red-head.

Both their eyes widened.

Flaky opened her mouth slightly, only barely spelling Splendid's name until said hero dashed towards her and hugged her so tightly that she barely managed to breathe.

"Flakes!" He spoke her nickname with so much joy that she couldn't help but smile too, despite nearly getting choked to death, "You're okay! You're alive! You're doing good!" He kept saying as if to reassure himself. Flaky patted him on the back repeatedly, as if to both console him and tell him to move, for she was pretty sure that her face went blue...

Splendid seemed to understand and so he let go, taking in the time to look at her face. He looked at both her cheeks, neck, and turned around to inspect her body for any potential bruises, but found none. He sighed in relief, "I'm so glad you're not hurt! Me and Nutt-case were worried about you."

"I know, and I-I'm sorry for making y-you both s-so worried..." she said, allowing the hero to hold both of her hands in a brotherly motion. He grinned boyishly and she smiled in return, both unaware of the war-vet's sharp eyes on them.

Flaky then suddenly noticed the amount of scratches and bruises on the hero himself and gasped, making the tall boy raise both of his eyebrows in alarm.

"Wh-what?!" He suddenly said, looking at his very own body as if a hole he hadn't been aware of was there.

The red-head pursed her lips, "You're full of b-bruises..." she whispered in mild-fright at his muddy and bloodied state, "Wh-what happened to you?"

"Oh..." He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, "Well, you see um..."

Flippy looked at the hero, who was about to tell her of his encounter with the blind man. He watched as Flaky's teary eyes widened at each and every phrase Splendid told her, as if the story in itself had been terrifying. Though he couldn't deny... A blind man with a firearm was certainly a rare sight, he still didn't think it was something to be all worked up for. Besides, the hero hadn't been really that injured anyway.

While crossing his arms, the war-vet looked at Lifty, who was already shaking his brother in hopes to wake him.

"He's unconscious... Won't wake up after a while..." He spoke with a bored tone, Lifty looked up and glared at him.

"What did you do to him?"

Flippy put his palm near his heart in fake hurt, "Why... I only cleaned his wound! How could you assume I would've done anything to actually _harm _him?"

"You're the one who shot him in the first place!" He nearly roared and Flippy couldn't help but look at him in annoyance.

"I did it because he was about to hurt _her," _he pointed with his thumb towards Flaky, who was still in a heated conversation with Splendid. Lifty looked at the red-head with both confusion and irritation, as if he didn't understand what was the big deal. That girl... Was she like... Precious to him? To a monster like him?! So much that he'd hurt Shifty because of-

Ahh, what the heck.

"I don't care anymore..." Lifty said with disgust as he tried untying Shifty, "I'm going to take him, we better be together before the next round."

Flippy looked at them for a mere five seconds before walking towards the talking duo, interrupting the two. He cleared his throat and tried not to appear _too _hostile near Flaky as he spoke;

"I think it's about time you give it to me, eh?" he gestured towards Shifty and Lifty, "as promised, he's fine."

"Oh..." Splendid said dumbly and took the piece of paper, which had just a bit of his blood in it. After wiping some of the stains clean, he gave it to the war-vet with a small smile of appreciation, "Here, sorry for dirtying it."

Flippy waved it off and opened the piece of paper, his mouth instantly curving into a... Smile... Not a smirk, a smile, he was near Flaky, no stupid mistakes.

Splendid noticed him smile and nearly shuddered, somehow it still felt creepy to see him so...

Nevermind.

He looked at the paper for a good minute before tucking it in his breast pocket, seemingly looking normal. He then walked out of ear sight while motioning them to continue their conversation, like he had never interrupted them in the first place.

Splendid felt a cold chill run down his spine and asked Flaky quietly, "How does he treat you?"

"H-Huh?" Flaky had been put off-guard with that question, "Just f-fine, why?"

"I don't know, he looks really... How should I put it...?" He said with a frown whilst looking towards the war-vet's direction, who was sitting quietly while cleaning his knives, "dangerous... Hostile... Barbaric... Beastly..."

"Woah!" Flaky chuckled, "Flippy isn't like that! He's th-the complete opposite!"

"I don't know, Flakes..." He whispered and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, "my sixth sense is telling me that this guy's no good... So all I'm saying is that you should be careful around him, he might be protecting you now, but he'll surely change for the worst later on, believe me."

Flaky gave him a small, reassuring smile; "I... I know we only met not so long ago, but... I have faith in him, somehow I..." She looked away for a moment, thinking that it might be best not talk but... She needed to tell somebody.

"What is it, Flaky?" Splendid looked concerned, she shrugged and smiled at him again.

"I feel like I've known him for a long, long time..." she spoke slowly, like she was truly remembering something. Splendid's brows furrowed and he tilted his head in confusion.

"You knew this guy?"

"I'm not sure... Maybe? I just feel like we've known each other."

"Huh..." the hero scratched his chin and shrugged, "Alright then, if that's the case then I guess it's about time I leave."

"Wha... Wait! Aren't you going to stay with us?" She said in small panic, Splendid shook his head with a grin.

"Nah! There's a small squirrel waiting for me somewhere, and he's feeling pretty sick! I've got to take care of him," he said while looking outside, "In fact... He's probably calling me names right now... Anyway, talk to you soon!" He waved and was about to dash outside, but stopped to throw Flippy a small, warning look.

The war-vet looked away from his weapons to answer that look with a much, _much _fiercer stare that nearly petrified him. The hero hadn't flinched, but settled with sticking his tongue out like a small grumpy child before running away.

Flippy tsked and continued cleaning his weapons, ignoring Lifty's groans of effort as he tried holding his brother piggy-back style. Flaky immediately ran towards the two and offered for help, to which the frailer twin refused.

"It's fine, we'll be heading out now." He muttered and glared at Flippy, who rolled his eyes; seemingly tired of all those guys glaring at him for weird reasons.

As the twins headed out, Flaky approached her friend and sat next to him, waiting for what comes next. He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say a thing, allowing them to sit in comfortable silence. She fidgeted every once in a while, like she wanted to say something, but had second thoughts.

Flippy wrinkled his nose and spoke, "what is it, Flaky?" he asked warmly, so as to not startle her. The red-head twirled her thumbs and thought for a minute or two before finally talking.

"Um, a-are we going to... Well... Remain a d-duo for the entire g-game?"

He stopped cleaning his firearms suddenly to look at her; she pouted and avoided eye-contact whilst still talking.

"I-I mean...! There could be others wh-who don't play, and who p-probably need help, s-so I was th-thinking if it m-might be possible to look f-for those people and—"

"And let them join us?" he said with a smile, she nodded reluctantly with expecting eyes. Flippy pursed his lips and looked outside the window before sighing. She appeared to be confused, but god... Was she so incredibly naive, how was such a sheltered girl capable of surviving?

"Flaky," he said suddenly, with a tone so firm that she nearly jumped, "What are we in right now?" he asked calmly. She fidgeted some more and answered;

"In a... Survival game..." She whispered.

He nodded, "what did Lumpy say yesterday night?"

She looked down, "It's... Kill or be killed..."

He nodded again, then turned to look at her, "How many are we...?" He spoke softly.

"...Dozens..."

"And do you think they wouldn't play? That they'll somehow cope with us against this game?" the war-vet said, she bit her lip and tried to scoot away, but he reached out to caress her cheek, his hands large and calloused, "Flaky, this isn't something all of us can escape from; this game could only have one winner..." he paused and brushed his thumb right under her eye to wipe a tear, "... And I'll make sure that winner is you."

Flaky had remained momentarily shocked at that sudden confession, but Flippy made sure that she wouldn't ask anything unnecessary for the moment. So he smiled and stood up, making his way towards the door while declaring that it was grand time for him to stand watch.

The red-head touched her cheek, still feeling the lingering warmth of his hand on it.

His hands had felt safe, yet somehow dangerous... For she had smelled the smallest of scents that reminded her of blood.

_'But I still trust you, Flippy...' _She thought while looking at his strong back, _'I always will...'_

* * *

Somewhere nearby, Lifty continued to piggy-back Shifty towards a safer area. He had been downright furious at the pale state his brother was in, but remained silent regardless. There had been no point into fighting Flippy, for he was much stronger than both of them combined. Losing that map meant losing a chance in winning, but he didn't care.

All that mattered was their safety, and their precious lives.

As the minutes went by, Lifty felt Shifty's eyes flutter open slowly. He smiled and slowly shook him, "Hey! Bro? Bro! Can you hear me?"

Shifty groaned in displeasure and furrowed his brows, his eyes half-lid, "U...Um... Lifty...?" He whispered his name, looking every bit tired and weak. Lifty nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! It's me! How are you feeling?"

When Lifty's eager and joyful voice finally reached the other twin's senses, panic ensued.

"Y-YOU IDIOT! LET ME GO!" He shouted suddenly while trying to jump away from him, but felt suddenly dizzy real quick. Lifty looked at his brother with both worried and confused eyes, as if said twin was hallucinating.

"C-Calm down, Shifty! What's gotten into you?!"

"Shut up! Leave me be and run! RUN NOW!" He yelled, startling him.

Lifty remained dumbfounded until he heard a weird, ticking robotic noise emitting from Shifty's wounded thigh. Upon laying his eyes on it, he noticed a small, red light flashing right in the middle of the wound, under the bandages.

Before he knew exactly what it was, the sound quickened along with the light...

And along went with their lives as they both blew into shreds.

Somewhere, a certain war-vet smiled in triumph.

_'A problem solved... Dozens to go...' _He thought in wicked amusement as he awaited for the round to end.

Everything was going well.

**To Be Continued.**

**Chapter late, chapter done. Reviews come! (Sorry, review whenever you want...) I apologize for taking so long to update! I haven't forgotten this story, honest! It's just that with school and studies kicking in, I can't help but be busy. I promise though, I'll finish this story, no matter what the cost!**

**I hope this chapter was to your licking, I'm sorry for the TYPOS/Mistakes you encounter, I'll be sure to edit them soon when I have the time. Take care, all of you!**


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